Jackson Free Press

A week after the deadline for submitting campaign-finance reports, and on the morning of Jackson city elections, Councilman and veteran attorney Chokwe Lumumba filed his campaign-finance report.

The report, dated May 6, shows that Lumumba raised $68,753 since the beginning of the year and spent $59,292, leaving the campaign fund with $17,963 in cash on hand.

Meanwhile, Lumumba's largest donor was attorney Barry Howard who contributed $10,000 while Lumumba gave himself $4,500 in two installment. Howard has given to at least one Democratic candidate for statewide office, Gary Anderson, who ran for insurance commissioner in 2007. Dr. Demitri Marshall of Port Gibson gave $2,000 and Jeannette Felton, also of Port Gibson, gave $1,000.

Several lawyers and businesses donated. Fidelity Refund and Check Cashers, whose telephone number goes to an AT&T store in Michigan, gave $300; Moore's Used Auto Sales on Gallatin Street in Jackson, gave $1,300 and La Quinta Inn and Suites gave $500. Marlboro, Md.-based Bowie Construction LLC and Jackson Fuel gave $500 a piece. A1 Bail Bond in west Jackson gave another $500.

Most of the donors listed Jackson addresses, with a smattering of Michigan and Georgia contributors. John Burge, whose address is not listed on the form, contributed $3,500. Michigan attorney Adam Shakoor, who has contributed to Democratic and Republican candidates in his home state, gave Lumumba $1,000.

Cochran Firm Mississippi, the local branch of the law office the late defense attorney who represented O.J. Simpson founded, and Precious Martin Sr. & Associates, each gave $1,000. Lumumba's law partner, Harvey Freelon, gave $1,100.

Eleven people on Lumumba's form list their address as "N/A." However, Lumumba has had at least three out-of-state fundraisers in the California Bay Area, in New York City and Washington D.C., but none of the people on the donor form list addresses near those cities.

Lumumba has explained the out-of-town fundraisers saying that fellow human-rights activists throughout the country support his candidacy. Saladin Muhammad, a North Carolina labor leader, gave $1,000. The Washington D.C.-based Black is Back coalition that advocates for reparations, single-payer health care, ending U.S.-led wars, freeing prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal and other "U.S. political prisoners/POWs/exiles" and rescinding the Patriot Act, gave $265. Eve Rosahn, who was indicted for providing a getaway car in a famous 1981 Brink's robbery, also gave $265. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Rosahn, who works at a legal-aid clinic in New York City.

Advertising consumed the bulk of Lumumba's spending. He spent $13,205 with Space Age Graphics, $7,342 with WKXI (Kixie 107-FM), $3,545 with Comcast, $2,776 with YMF Media and $7,050 with Lamar Advertising.

The Mississippi State Supreme Court has granted a stay of execution for death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning. Manning was scheduled to be put to death this evening at 6 p.m. at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

Manning, accused of killing two people in Oktibbeha County in 1992, has maintained he is innocent and has been fighting to clear his name. Since last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has twice admitted to errors in Manning's original trial, stating that investigators overstated the evidence against Manning.

Prosecutors said Manning had been in possession of items that belonged to the victims and that bullets from Manning's gun matched bullets recovered from the victims' bodies. On May 6, the FBI said in a letter: “The science regarding firearms examinations does not permit examiner testimony that a specific gun fired a specific bullet to the exclusion of all other guns in the world.”

In a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted Manning, U.S. Justice Department officials stated last week "that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used" in Manning's case.

The letter, which went to Manning's lawyer and the Mississippi Innocence Project, which is monitoring the case, goes on to say that information the FBI presented in its testimony "exceeded the limits of science, and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI offered to perform the mitochondrial DNA testing.

Manning has always said he did not commit the crime; in fact, he says he was at a club on the night of the murders. For years, he's been trying to convince the state to test DNA from the crime scene. As gruesome as the murders were, there should be lots of biological material to test. One of the victims, Tiffany Miller, was shot twice in the face at close range. One leg was out of her pants and underwear, and her shirt was pulled up. Her boyfriend John Steckler's body had abrasions that occurred before he died, and he was shot once in the back of the head. A set of car tracks had gone through the puddles of blood and over Steckler's body.

One of the issues Manning raised in his appeal is that Allgood illegally kept African Americans off Manning's jury by dismissing potential jurors who said they read African American magazines. David Voisin, Manning's attorney, said if approved, the testing could take several weeks, depending on which lab is used.

On May 3, at the Mississippi Capitol, death-penalty opponents and Manning supporters called on Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution. The Mississippi Innocence Project filed a brief in support of Manning this week. Kennedy Brewer, who was exonerated in 2008 with DNA tests after being convicted and sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend's young daughter, also wrote Bryant asking to give Manning the same opportunity to clear his name that Kennedy received.

Update: Statment from Attorney General Jim Hood

I am sorry that the victims’ families will have to continue to …

This mayoral race has always been about whether or not the voters want to fire Mayor Johnson. My assessment has always been that while they are contemplating doing so, they first want to see what and who their alternatives are. Voters are essentially conservative by nature (not necessarily by politics), and the incumbent they know will often be preferable to an exciting or intriguing but ultimately unproven replacement ( See Mayor Melton). Usually, things have to be pretty bad for voters to make that decision to fire the incumbent. Statistically, at the federal level congressional incumbents get reelected at a 90% rate, and nationally the municipal rate is near 80%. As a study of incumbency in municipal elections in the United States puts it: “It is virtually always better to be an incumbent than a challenger in American elections.”

Note: This story has been updated with a total donation figure that Lee's backers gave to federal Republican candidates since 2008. The new paragraph is bolded down below.

In the WAPT-Clarion-Ledger debate, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. alluded to the fact that he is a real Democrat when he unloaded on opponent Jonathan Lee in his closing statement. This is clearly a continuation of some Jacksonians' belief that Lee is a "Rankin County Republican," a meme we've heard off and on for months now.

We have factchecked both parts of that allegation to the best of our ability and will address them both below.

First, Rankin County

Lee's campaign materials make him sound like a life-long Jacksonian. His website states:

Jonathan was born, grew up and lives in Jackson. Jonathan was born and raised in Jackson into a family with deep ties throughout the community. The son of two Lanier graduates and part of a family whose roots span three generations in Jackson’s Georgetown community, Jonathan learned early what it meant to be proud of one’s city.

Jonathan called all of Jackson home – from growing up on Meadow Lane to getting picked up by his grandmother (“Big Mama”) after school who lived in Georgetown. After graduating from high school, Jonathan attended Mississippi State University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a Master’s in Business Administration.

The part that is left out of that description is that Lee's family moved to Rankin County in 1988 when he was 11. He later graduated from Northwest Rankin High School and did not live in Jackson again until 2009 when records show that Lee and his wife moved into Jackson from Rankin County. When asked, he does not deny that he has lived less than four years in Jackson as an adult.

Lee, who is 35 now, took over as president of his father's company when he was 24, according to his campaign materials. He told the Jackson Free Press that he stepped down from the company, which he never owned, in December 2011, meaning that he ran it for about 10 years.

Candidate Lee ran into a Rankin-related controversy last year after a commenter posted on the Jackson Free Press site that he was still driving a Maroon SUV with a Rankin County plate. In response to an Aug. 10, 2012, query about it, Lee emailed the Jackson Free Press:

This particular rumor has been shopped around various media outlets all week. The vehicle I assume that they are referring to is my company vehicle. My personal vehicle is registered in Hinds County, a fact easily verified.

MPI is owned by an entity chartered and located in Rankin County. It was where our distribution company was originally located. In fact, MPI has only been located in Jackson for 19 years. For those 19 years MPI has paid property taxes, inventory taxes, and school taxes in Jackson, Miss. The parent company is still located in Rankin county …

Who hasn't bothered to file campaign-finance reports for the primaries?

We're trying to find the context of the $294,000/grant accusation in the email the Lee campaign sent out, but wouldn't document. We found the 2008 Clarion-Ledger story that the Lee campaign cited, as well as stories in the JFP. First, the Ledger story.

It was about then-Mayor Melton's abysmal financial management. It mentions the administration's complaints about problems left over from Johnson--which I personally take with a grain of salt until I find out the context. Because if there was anybody who could blame anyone but themselves, it was the Melton administration. Here's the relevant part of the story, "City not responding to suggestions":

"An employee hired by Mayor Frank Melton to assess Jackson's fiscal situation says she is fed up with Melton and his department heads for not responding to her recommendations to fix the city's bookkeeping problems. Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Valerie Nevels, a former Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator, said the mayor has not reinforced her suggestions. ...Nevels outlined to the City Council Budget Committee and various department heads a recent audit of city finances. She said it indicated sloppy accounting has left the city at risk of losing millions in federal funds and blurred its financial condition. The audit examined records from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006. To improve financial management in the city, Nevels has tried training personnel in such areas as filing quarterly reviews, balancing accounts monthly and setting firm deadlines for purchases and transfers. But employees have ignored the procedures and guidelines she passed out Oct. 1, she said. Nevels said Melton's response was for her to "make it happen." ...

...Melton and Walker said the city's poor accounting practices are left over from previous administrations. Nevels concurred, saying that during former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s administration, the city had more people working on financial statements and grants but the same problems existed. Johnson, mayor from 1997-2005, said his administration "took great pains to make sure the financial system was adequate. Johnson said that in his last year as mayor the city's bond rating was increased twice. Despite his efforts, Johnson's administration left behind some mismanaged grants, which the current administration and council had to deal with last fall. The city had to repay more than $294,000 on a grant because the grant was not spent in the required time period. Another $29,412 had to be repaid for the same period. "Clearly (Johnson) didn't walk away from this enterprise with clean hands, nor is the Melton administration going to walk away with clean hands," council President Leslie Burl McLemore said.

I vaguely remembered this controversy because it surprised us that a Melton hire was whistle-blowing on him. So I searched our database and found these stories about the problems that Nevel revealed: No Oversight Costing City Nobody Minding the Store

Adam Lynch also reported on Johnson and grants in this story right after he returned to office.

Although all of those stories bring back painful Melton-era …

Willie Jerome Manning, convicted of the 1992 murders of two Mississippi State students, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday May 7.

Manning has always said he did not commit the crime; in fact, he says he was at a club on the night of the murders. For years, he's been trying to convince the state to test DNA from the crime scene. As gruesome as the murders were, there should be lots of biological material to test. One of the victims, Tiffany Miller, was shot twice in the face at close range. One leg was out of her pants and underwear, and her shirt was pulled up. Her boyfriend John Steckler's body had abrasions that occurred before he died, and he was shot once in the back of the head. A set of car tracks had gone through the puddles of blood and over Steckler's body.

Already the Mississippi State Supreme Court has denied Manning's request to have DNA tests done that were unavailable in the early 90s. Now, Manning's attorneys have produced information that shows the Federal Bureau of Investigation erred in its testimony in Manning's case. In a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted the case, U.S. Justice Department officials state "that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used" in Manning's case.

The letter goes on to say that information the FBI presented in its testimony "exceeded the limits of science, and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI offered to perform the mitochondrial DNA testing, and requested Allgood's office respond by May 6 -- the day before Manning is to be put to death.

It's unclear whether Allgood will be receptive. One of the issues Manning raised in his appeal is that Allgood illegally kept African Americans off Manning's jury by dismissing potential jurors who said they read African American magazines for reading liberal publications. David Voisin, Manning's attorney, said if approved the testing could take several weeks depending on which lab is used.

This afternoon at the Capitol, death-penalty opponents and Manning supporters called on Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution. The Mississippi Innocence Project field a brief in support of Manning this week. Kennedy Brewer, who was freed in 2008 with DNA tests after being convicted and sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend's young daughter, also wrote Bryant asking to give Manning the same opportunity to clear his name that Kennedy received.

Sister Maati, of Our Community Against Racism, invoked this year's 50th anniversary of Medgar Evers' assassination and said allowing Manning's execution take place, considering the discriminatory fashion in which his lawyers say the DA picked his jurors, would demonstrate that Mississippi has not moved beyond its legacy of injustice.

"Mississippi, prove that institutional racism is no longer a part of your southern heritage, or admit that the execution of Willie Manning is yet another Mississippi lynching," Sister Maati said this afternoon.

You knew we weren't going to make it through two days in a row without more sniping between Jackson's incumbent mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. and challenger Jonathan Lee.

On Wednesday, the Lee campaign circulated an e-mail declaring Jonathan the "hands-down winner" of Tuesday's night's debate, then made these charges against the Mayor:

• During his first two terms The City of Jackson was investigated for mismanaging $519,000 worth of federally funded grants.

• In 2008 The City of Jackson was forced to "repay more than $294,000 on a grant because the grant was not spent in the required time period. Another $29,412 had to be repaid for the same period." (Clarion Ledger, January 28, 2008) Again, an investigation that came as a result of the mismanagement of federally funded grants during Mayor Johnson's first two terms.

• It's taken 10 years to even begin repairs on Fortification Street (the City received $6.3 million to make improvements to Fortification Street in 2002). The Fortification Street project began in July 2012--approximately 10 months before Election Day, May 7, 2013.

The second accusation against Johnson over the $294,000 left on the table is accurate, according to a story the Clarion Ledger's archive. The story is about the money mismanagement of the Frank Melton administration, but mentions that many of the problems that mayor had were systemic from the Johnson years. It was an error that happened under Johnson that cost the city the grant money.

The e-mail went on to say that Johnson received $13,750 in campaign contributions from a prominent law firm, which was in turn "awarded" $170,000 worth of work as a part of the Siemens deal with the city to repair water infrastructure and another, who gave $16,500 in 2009, was given $100,000 for work in the Siemens deal.

The JFP is in the process of trying to procure a copy of Johnson's campaign finance reports from 2009.

Johnson's campaign issued this response around 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon:

"It’s come to our attention that once again… Jonathan Lee is using deception and lies in an attempt to mislead the public. He recently released information about our record that is false and taken out of context.

"Instead of telling half truths about our campaign, Mr. Lee needs to focus on his own finances. The fact of the matter is Mr. Lee has had four default judgments entered against his business. And, he deliberately misled the public when he touted that he was a business owner. In fact, he mentioned it during his commercials, on his website, and through social media. The fact is, while he was in charge of his family business, Jonathan Lee ran it into the ground. Eventually, vendors had to file lawsuits, obtaining default judgments of more than $150,000, in order to recover the money that Mr. Lee’s company owed them. When the media found out about Mr. Lee’s mismanagement of his second generation company, Mr. Lee suddenly announced that he never …

The state of Mississippi is moving closer to carrying out the first execution of 2013.

The Mississippi State Supreme Court denied today Willie Jerome Manning's requests for a rehearing and a stay of execution. Manning wants DNA tests that were not available at the time of his conviction in the early 1990s. Manning received the death penalty for the December 1992 killings of two Mississippi State University students, Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler.

Manning has maintained his innocence. This Mississippi Innocence Project filed a brief in support of Manning. Innocence Projects usually don't get involved with cases that lack compelling evidence of innocence. Of the seven people Innocence Project helped exonerate, six of them were freed because their DNA was absent from the scene of the crime, the brief states.

In addition to the DNA request, Manning's attorney said one of the prosecution's jury-selection tactics in Manning's trial was discriminatory. Voisin said some candidates listed publications such as Jet and Ebony magazines on a jury questionnaire. Prosecutors dismissed some of the potentials because they read liberal publications.

In 2012, Mississippi tied with Arizona and Oklahoma for second-most executions carried out in the United States, with six in each state. Texas led the nation with 15 executions in 2012. Manning is scheduled to be executed May 7 at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.

There were some high-dollar contributors at a private meeting Speaker Philip Gunn had in his office last night. An unusual amount of activity at the Capitol yesterday evening led a TV news crew and a print reporter to investigate, but the journalists were turned away by Capitol security, wrote Clarion-Ledger political editor Geoff Pender today.

According to Pender's report, Gunn's policy director Nathan Wells called the meeting small and consisting of Gunn supporters who hadn't had a chance to visit the speaker's office.

Attendees included oilmen Billy Powell and Billy Mounger as well as Wirt Yerger and their spouses. All the men are high-rollers when it comes to political donations.

Mounger, who has worked in oil and gas development, gave more than $100,000 in both 2007 and 2011, but a quick review of those disclosure filings reveal that Gunn was not a recipient from Mounger in those two cycles.

Mounger has also given handsomely to federal campaigns, including former Gov. Haley Barbour's political action committee and to Republican members of Mississippi's congressional delegation. Powell of Powell Petroleum has also given while Yerger, president of Cavalier Wireless, gave $3,500 to candidates in 2011, including $1,000 to Gunn.

Wells insisted that the meeting was not a fundraiser. He told Pender: "We have food brought in for meetings all the time. This was completely paid for by (Gunn). There were no contributions, and none asked for. It’s not an event. We eat food here at meetings all the time.”

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. introduced two new pieces of technology designed to make the Jackson Police Department more efficient, transparent and accountable.

The first demonstration was technology that will allow the city to track city vehicles in real-time on an online map of the city. Johnson said they have already outfitted 50 city vehicles - including work trucks, police cars and heavy equipment - with trackers and are working out the bugs before they put the technology into all the vehicles.

The Mayor said that technology will make the vehicle operators more accountable, make the police department more efficient in their coverage and reduce the carbon footprint from vehicles in the city by helping them map out the most direct route to their destinations. That project has a $55,000 price tag.

The second piece of technology is an e-ticketing system that will allow traffic stops to easier and more efficient. The handheld devices, already issued to 37 officers, allow them to scan a drivers license using a card-swiper, and enter the information for the citation digitally. If he/she issues a ticket, it will be printed instead of hand-written, and the information will insert itself directly in the county or municipal clerk's office instead of having to be filed manually.

Those devices cost $3,300 per unit.

Mayor Johnson also gave out the COMSTAT trophy for the most-improved precinct to Precinct 1 (Jackson's south side), where crime has dropped nearly 30 percent in the past three months.

The JFP received this release from the mayor's office Wednesday afternoon:

South Jackson has dramatic decrease in property crimes

Recent Jackson Police Department statistics reveal that South Jackson’s Precinct 1 led the entire city in crime reduction for the first Quarter of 2013. The Precinct saw a 28.9% drop in overall crime. Property crime decreased by 28.2% and violent crime decreased by 32.5%.

Each quarter the Jackson Police Department recognizes the precinct with the greatest drop in overall crime. That precinct is then awarded the traveling COMSTAT Trophy.

For Precinct One to win the COMSTAT Trophy represents a “remarkable turnaround” said, Police Chief Rebecca Coleman.

She further stated, “This is a tribute to the hard work, dedication and perseverance of the police officers that are assigned to Precinct One. Working in conjunction with the citizens of South Jackson, and implementing several crime fighting strategies, we have seen great success. Commander Wallace of Precinct 1 and her staff are very deserving of this recognition.”

In recent years, Precinct 1 has routinely led the city in the number of House Burglaries committed. They have averaged as many as fifty a week. Beginning in 2009, Chief Coleman implemented strategies aimed towards reducing these numbers. These included the following:

• Increasing the number of beats from 8 – 10
• Re-assigning support personnel to patrol duty in areas most affected
• Using the D.A.R.T. Unit in these areas as much as possible

“The biggest impact we have seen has been in the individual beat officer’s response time, …

Pass the Kleenex. Jackson ranks at the top of the list for spring allergies.

Update: According to Jackson Director of Communications Chris Mims, Babe's was seeking $300,000 in damages. He added that the actual payout is likely to be around $105,000, give or take a few thousand dollars.

A lawsuit City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen called "the last lawsuit against the city from the Melton administration" has been decided in favor of Babes Showclub vs. the city of Jackson.

The adult entertainment venue is seeking damages for loss of revenue "in the hundreds of thousands." On Tuesday, the city council voted 5-2 to settle with the club, closing the door on the final civil lawsuit against the former administration.

The history:

The Jackson Police Department shut down Babe's Showclub, an adult entertainment venue in the 1100 block of West Street back in March of 2006 on the grounds the city had no record of Babe's adult entertainment renewal application.

Attorneys for Babes called the closure illegal, and local attorney Chris Ganner and Tampa, Fla., attorney Luke Lirot argued that the city had also squelched the owner's rights to appeal the closure.

Babes General Manager Bo Powell argued that his club had applied for its 2006 license in October 2005 and complained that the city's application process was "confusing." He also claimed that city officials, whether accidentally or intentionally, had misdirected his application efforts.

Powell re-applied for a temporary license, but the city said it couldn't legally give out temporary licenses, despite Babes' attorneys' protestations that a temporary license is the only kind Babes could get if the city didn't follow through with the licensing process on its end.

Powell testified that an employee filed an application with the city's sign and license division because no one was available in JPD to take the application. Two city employees in the sign and license division testified that they'd accepted a $200 license renewal fee and stamped the document as a receipt. City employee Yolanda Shaw said she told JPD that Babes had made the payment, though JPD license and permit officer Samuel Gardner claimed at the time he had no record of the application.

Gardner also said he'd told Babes two months later that they had no license registered, but Powell said he had no hint of the problem until police showed up to close his club down in March.

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.

The Committee to Elect Chokwe Lumumba, Jackson mayoral candidate Chokwe Lumumba's political action committee, shared its first campaign finance report with the Jackson Free Press this morning.

The report, which you can see here, was filed almost two full months late. But it is just the fourth report filed by the 14 candidates vying to be Jackson's next mayor. The others were filed by front-runners Jonathan Lee and Regina Quinn, as well as incumbent Harvey Johnson Jr.

Mr. Lumumba's campaign raised $22,141 in 2012, with $18,750 coming from major donors (gifts of over $250) and $3,391 coming from smaller donors. His biggest supporter is Jackson attorney Barry Wayne Howard of Jackson, who gave $10,000 to the PAC on May 14, 2012.

Other donors reaching or topping the $1,000 mark include Moore's Used Auto Sales, LLC on Gallatin Street ($1,000), Jackson attorney Winston J. Thompson ($1,200), Deerfield Pest Control, Inc. on West Mayes Street ($1,000), Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet III ($1,000), and Dr. Vonda Reeves-Darby ($1,000).

The campaign spent $19,026 and reported a total amount of cash-on-hand of $7,491 as of January 1, 2013.

The Attorney General is requesting that the Mississippi State Supreme Court set an execution date for Willie Jerome Manning on or before April 24.

The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the operation of state buildings, has recommended the former Worldcom Building in Clinton as the permanent home for the Department of Revenue, now housed in what's practically a shed, also in Clinton.

Downtown Jackson had been a front-runner for agency HQ, especially after a 2011 report commissioned by then-Gov. Haley Barbour said buying the Landmark Building would be the cheapest option for our cash-strapped state.

The issue has since become politically charged with Speaker Philip Gunn wanting to keep the agency close to his Clinton district.

DFA explains its rational in the following verbatim news release:

MS Department of Finance & Administration Recommends New Location for the MS Department of Revenue

Today, the MS Department of Finance & Administration has determined that, on the basis of receiving the highest evaluation score, the Mississippi Department of Revenue should execute a 20 year lease agreement with Duckworth Realty for the relocation of its offices to the South Pointe Building (the former Worldcom Building) in Clinton, MS. The initial annual cost to the State would be $2,878,000 resulting in a total cost of $41,428,492 (net present value) for the term of the lease agreement. This offer represented the lowest total cost to the State. The proposal submitted by Duckworth for the South Pointe Building includes 187,511 square feet of office space, 600 parking spaces, tenant improvements, security and janitorial services. The lease term would begin July 1, 2014.

Kevin J. Upchurch, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Finance & Administration, stated “We are pleased to have a more permanent solution to the issue of housing the MS Department of Revenue. The selection process was thorough and comprehensive. The main objectives of this process were the cost to the taxpayers, ease of access for citizens, and securing a more permanent, functional facility for MDOR employees. I am satisfied that this location meets all of those objectives.”

On November 1, 2012, DFA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to obtain new offices for the Mississippi Department of Revenue (MDOR) via a long term lease. A team consisting of three DFA employees and two MDOR employees was assembled to evaluate all proposals based on pre-defined calculations and scoring criteria. The State received six proposals and three were selected for further review. The three finalists were Hertz Investment Group, LLC (The Landmark Building), Ergon (Diversified Technologies Building), and Duckworth Realty (South Pointe Building).

DFA contracted with Allred Architectural Group, P.A. of Ocean Springs, MS to perform test fit analysis, building assessments, and environmental assessments of the three proposed buildings. This review was designed to determine each building’s ability to meet the needs of the MDOR. The review was also designed to identify any deficiencies within the buildings. Based on the results of these analyses, each finalist was asked to the submit a Best and Final Offer in which they were to explain how any noted deficiencies would be addressed, as well as, make any final …

During this 10th anniversary of the Bush invasion of Iraq, I remember well the week that the war started. The JFP was only a few months old and still making a name for ourselves. When we realized that Bush was actualy pushing ahead with the threatened Iraq campaign, we postponed our planned cover story (an interview with then JPD Chief Robert Moore) and published this "myths" of the Iraq War instead. (The other story ran the next week.) At the time, the war was popular, and supporters were lying through their teeth as we now know, even trying to convince Americans that attacking Iraq was, somehow, a way to go after Saddam Hussein (presumably because they had Islam in common).

This was one of those decisions we didn't have to make. We knew it wouldn't be a popular move to publish a cover story and a cover that was clearly against Bush's war, but we started this newspaper to tell the truth, no matter who it perturbs. So in one of our early "do the right thing and wait" moves (which publisher Todd Stauffer now calls stories like these), we put the issue out and waited for the other shoe to fall.

It didn't. The issue after this one had our biggest ad sales as of that time, and we only lost three distribution spots (one of which returned, and the other two are out of business).

The truth isn't always popular, but it is the Fourth Estate's responsibility to tell it. I'm fond of saying that my editorial decisions over the year have kept my conscience clear. This one was no exception.

May all of the soldiers, and civilians, who lost their lives in the Iraq War rest in peace. That includes my cousin, Josh Ladd, who died in Iraq believing he was fighting for a just cause.

Just in time for the spring food issue of the Jackson Free Press next week, we asked on Facebook: What is your favorite dish at a locally owned restaurant in the Jackson area? What and where? We've gotten dozens of responses so far—and some great suggestions! Here they are:

Nicholas Scott Whitehead EVERYTHING at CS'S!!

ReBecca Christine McDonald Beef Shwarma at Petra's Cafe

Christopher Alan Burrow Fish Tacos at The Islander ate great!

Leah Murry Mine is a "wish they were still here" - it was the GT's fries (and shrimp po-boy) at Good Time Deli. How I wish they were still around! No one has fries like that. Sigh.

Zachary Murphy Any and everything at Keifers!!!

Lindsey George Chicken & Dressing at George's Museum Cafe!

Melissa Burks Dearman Red fish and scallops at the Mayflower. And of course the comeback dressing!

Mandy Montgomery Mullen Hey Leah Murry, I am TOTALLY with you on that! We actually make em at home now just so I can 'get my fix' My Favorite dish tho would have to be the Pork Belly Taco at Babalu...I could eat those EVERY DAY! Or Shrimp and Grits at Table 100, which changed my view on Greens for life! Man, I could do this all day...

Sarah Asmus My favorite dish is grits and grillades at Steve's Downtown Deli & Bakery. Or the chicken salad. Or any of the cookies. Or the focaccia bread.

David Martin Buchanan Fried chicken sandwich with portobello fries at Julep

Richard Laswell Camerones al a Diabla from El Portrillo's in Flowood.

Marilynne Nelson Gyro with mushrooms, mozz, and feta dressing instead of tzatziki from Keifer's.

Savanah Perry Pimento and cheese at Brent's!

Bridgette Iupe Thursday lunch plate at walkers meatloaf with Mac and cheese. Just makes me feel good.

Tasha Grayson Bibb Short ribs with garlic potatoes and creamed spinach at Char! Oh! And that cornbread.....

Janice Hogan Grilled salmon and oysters at Eslava's on Lakeland

Pam Keith Dollar Shrimp and Grits and Creme Brulee at Bon Ami - and Peach Tea too - can't forget that!

Dorothea Brock Red fish Anna, Walkers

Lonnie Ford Lamb chops at Aladdins grille

Ashley Cummins Jolly PM burger at Parlor market.

Happy O'Quinn Shrimp pasta at Sugar's Downtown

Duan Carter Pho @ Saigon, Turkey Burger from Cool Al's, Chicken from Two Sisters, Rib Tips & Hot Links from E&L BBQ, Supreme Pizza from Pizza Shack, last but not least Steak Burrito from the Valdez on Old Canton! I know you said one - but those are my favs - just keeping it real.

Duan Carter OH - off the cuff - Saigon is moving into the old Fazzoli's on Ridgewood Road, they are supposed to be moved in and rolling by May - they closed the location on County Line road. Good for me, bad for Rankin county - yes indeed!

Leah Murry @mandy montgomery mullen - I don't think I could make them at home to taste anything like Good Time Deli! …

Ha. I was just doing research on mayoral candidates and found this piece I wrote about now-mayoral candidate Chokwe Lumumba when the JFP was all of about two weeks old. My (white) photographer Jaro Vacek and I showed up to cover this meeting and were not treated very well. It was clear they asked us to leave because we were white press.

However, I chose to do my homework and write a fair story about Lumumba, and include that they kicked us out but not black media. When we attended the next meeting, we were treated very differently, and he has treated us respectfully since then.

Interesting trip down memory lane.