Jackson Free Press

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mother Jones, the liberal investigative-news magazine that broke the story of Mitt Romney's 47 percent remark during the presidential campaign, is now taking aim at Mississippi politics.

MoJo reports that in August, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who last week announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, addressed a "a neo-Confederate conference in Laurel, Miss., near his hometown of Ellisville."

Attendees were reportedly urged to dress in "Confederate uniforms and antebellum ball gowns or wee kilties."

McDaniel told the Clarion-Ledger political editor Geoff Pender, however, that he never attended the ball and was at a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council at the time.

MoJo doesn't provide any videographic proof but quotes sources saying that McDaniel attended the ball (the invitation listing McDaniel can be found here), but reports:

McDaniel was joined at the Southern Heritage Conference by Al Benson, a historian from Louisiana, who talked about his book Red Republicans & Lincoln Marxists, which speculates that Lincoln's actions during the Civil War were influenced by the writings of Karl Marx. ("Was Abraham Lincoln influenced by communism when the Union condemned the rights of Southern states to express their independence? It’s shocking to think so.") Benson's Amazon bio describes him as "a true Copperhead," a reference to Northern Democrats who supported the Confederate cause. In the September issue of the Rosin Heels newsletter, Benson writes that the nation's public school system was a product of "spiritual apostasy" by Unitarians and socialists.

The third speaker at the event was Ryan Walters, a PhD student at the University of Southern Mississippi who occasionally guest-hosts "The Right Side," the radio program McDaniel hosted before he entered politics (and still regularly appears on). Walters worked for McDaniel's first political campaign and previously suggested that President Obama was preparing to send army tanks to Texas. "As you recall, there was great controversy over Obama's birth certificate, which hasn't really been solved, but that's another story," he wrote in a recent blog post.

McDaniel is the first, and may end up being the only, Republican to come out and challenge the veteran Sen. Thad Cochran. McDaniel is one of the Tea Party's favorite legislators; Cochran is one of the Tea Party's most hated.

Mother Jones points out that the Rosin Heels has put up billboard wishing Confederate president and former Mississippi resident Jefferson Davis a happy birthday/

Now, in fairness to the Rosin Heels and to McDaniel, the Mississippi Senate once adjourned in memory of southern General Robert E. Lee and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom share a recognized birthday, at the suggestion of African American state Sen. Hillman Frazier of Jackson.

Updated to reflect a correction. A previous version misstated that MoJo did not quote sources saying McDaniel attended. The magazine did report that one of the organizers confirmed McDaniel's attendance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. — Thomas Jefferson

This afternoon, Gov. Phil Bryant followed through on his promise to issue an executive order for BlueCross & BlueShield of Mississippi to accept 10 Hospital Management Associates facilities into their provider networks.

The health companies have been beefing over money for a few months now.

Bryant had said that if the parties didn't work something out, he would step in order to ensure continuity in patient access to care.

Obviously aware of that given his chest beating about the government staying out of the affairs of private businesses, meddling with BCBS/HMA might come off as hypocritical (see his opposition to Medicaid expansion and Obamacare in general), Bryant's statement to the press reads:

"The Order issued by Gov. Bryant does not attempt to resolve the parties’ dispute over prior payments under their contracts, and it expresses no opinion and has no effect on that issue or their ongoing lawsuit. Rather, the Order is intended to preserve access to care until a full investigation is complete."

Bryant hoped the sides could come up with a resolution, but when they did not, said "as governor, I cannot sit back and allow Mississippian’s access to care to be threatened in violation of state law."

His order, good for at least 60 days, comes one day after Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney announced a deal whereby four HMA would be considered part of BCBS' network.

If the governor's actions are puzzling in that context, remember that Bryant also fought Chaney, a fellow Republican statewide officeholder, on setting up a state-based health-care exchange for the Affordable Care Act. The tiff caused the federal government to step in and set an exchange on Mississippi's behalf.

So, yeah, our governor has some control issues.

Lucky Town Brewing Co. is reporting on its Facebook page that the startup microbrewery received unanimous zoning approval to move into a building in midtown.

Lucky Town—which started making more of its own beer in 2012 after a successful Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign—is one of only a handful of breweries operating in Mississippi and will be the first in Jackson in a long time.

Cheers!

Superband Wasteband!

This week's new releases, plus some thoughts on Paul McCartney's "New"...

The response to the question that will be posed to the Jackson City Council next Tuesday (Oct. 22) is something many people are asking: Is the Jackson Redevelopment Authority still worth having?

Ward 3 Councilwoman LaRita Cooper-Stokes has put forward item No. 34, an order by the city council unauthorizing the JRA.

Technically, the word should be de-authorizing, but you get the message. This conversation should be interesting in light of recent developments with the Farish Street saga and the unanswered questions surrounding the non-existent convention center hotel.

For a quick history lesson, JRA was created during the 1970 legislative session. It’s a seven-member board that has power, under the Mississippi Code of 1972, to establish and construct municipal parking facilities for motor vehicles belonging to members of the general public, and to rent, lease, purchase, or acquire land and property for public purposes (the historic Farish Street district or the land on which the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau now sits, for example).

This may get a bit technical, but it also has the power and authority to rent, sell, convey, transfer, let or lease such facility and related structures or any portion thereof, or any space therein, and to authorize commercial enterprise activities other than the parking of motor vehicles on leased property comprising any part of such parking facilities and related structures, which is what it is doing with the Farish Street Entertainment District and the land on which the new Iron Horse Grill will sit.

Because the JRA board was set up by Mississippi law, it is unclear whether or not the city council even has the authority to do eliminate the quasi-governmental body.

We reached out to all the city council members this morning and, so far, Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber is the only one to comment. He said he is not likely to support the motion.

“What I am in support of is a proposal I’m going to bring forward,” Yarber said, “a motion that will require JRA to involve the (city) council in future, and way earlier on in the process.”

Yarber said he could bring his motion as early as next week.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps responded with a "no comment."

Residents of Jackson's Fondren and Belhaven neighborhoods are cautioning their fellow neighbors to be vigilant amid what they're calling a crime spree of house burglaries.

Jeff Good, who lives and owns businesses in Fondren, sent out the word on Facebook. "We obviously have a group of criminals stalking our neighborhood (and Belhaven) and breaking in. We have all seen the myriad of postings ... looks like we are averaging 3 - 4 a day, all in the mid-morning/early afternoon (9 - 1 p.m.)," Good wrote.

Good added "the current list of suspect cars are a older model two-door white Honda Accord sedan with a spoiler on the back (that is a raised fin on the trunk of the car... like a race car would have. Another vehicle is grey Chrysler 300."

It's hard to quantifiably determine whether there's been any spike in crime. Overall house burglaries were down between Oct. 6 and Oct. 13, as well as in the last 28 days and year-to-date through Oct. 13, JPD data show. Any spree that commenced after Sunday of this week will not show up until next week's crime report is published.

Nevertheless, Good and other residents are erring on the side of caution. Precinct 4 Commander James McGowan wrote Good back about how residents could keep themselves and their property safe. Good posted McGowan's response on Facebook:

"Call the Police Department immediately at 911 for any suspicious activity (people and vehicles). Call 911 first and report the information as detailed as possible. Anyone going door to door should be immediately reported. If you have windows and doors with no curtains, do not leave laptop computers other items where they can be easily seen by someone walking up to the door.

"We have increased patrol in the Belhaven and Fondren. Directive Patrols are being done in Belhaven, Fondren, Eastover and all througout Precinct Four. There were and always will be at least 10 officers on each of the 10 beats we have in Precinct Four, plus at least one Sergeant out on the streets. We have the Direct Action Response Team, the newly reconstructed Jackson Police Department Reserve Unit, Quality of Life officers and other units in our area patrolling.

"If you see a suspicious person or vehicle, please call 911 immediately. Call us first.

"We are looking for several vehicles in reference to recent burglaries (both auto and house burglaries). We are looking for a grey Chrysler 300, a white 1992ish Chevrolet Silverado, and a honda vehicle that has been described as an accord type of vehicle. The main thin is continue to be aware of your surroundings and the neighborhood. If it looks suspicious, call 911. There is and always will be a 10 beat officers working along with at least one sergeant.

"Get tag numbers, use your cell phone to take a picture of the suspect and suspect vehicle."

According to GovTrack.us, Representatives Alan Nunnelee and Steven Palazzo voted against House Bill 2775 this evening, which was the bi-partisan compromise in the Senate to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling in order that the bills owed--from budgets already passed and funds already appropriated by this same House--might be paid.

The rest of the Mississippi delegation -- Senators Wicker and Cochran, Representatives Thompson and Harper -- voted for the compromise bill.

For the two who voted against the bill, it's worth it to stop and think what they voted against tonight. After their tea party point was made -- and after their tactics failed and a compromise was reached -- they still voted to take the United State's good faith and credit down with their twisted politics.

This compromise was the vehicle for moving ahead; this compromise was the vehicle for getting back to work after a misguided stratagem -- shutting down the government in order to try to kill the Affordable Care Act -- blew up in one party's face.

After $24 billion lost, treasury bills getting more expensive, 0.6% shaved off GDP growth and countless people denied important, sometimes critical services, this was the way forward.

But along with Rand Paul and Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio, two of Mississippi delegation still voted against putting the government back to work and pulling the economy out of a treacherous nose dive.

Nunnelee and Palazzo put ideology over country. It was irresponsible, selfish and potentially very damaging to the United States and its people.

Hopefully their constituents will remember that.

The Jackson Police Department announced an arrest this afternoon in the death of pro fisherman Jimmy Johnson. A Texas native, Johnson was only passing through Jackson to participate in a fishing tournament when he was shot and killed at a motel Sunday.

Rightly, there has been an outpouring of support for Johnson and his family over the past few days. And, also rightly so, there has been a fair amount of media coverage of Johnson's murder and the ensuing investigation. With today's news from JPD that a 17-year-old has been charged in connection to Johnson's death, local news and social media is once again abuzz.

The Clarion-Ledger has had three or four stories about the incident tacked to its front page all day while the comment sections of various news orgs are blowing up with comments about Johnson's death says about and means for progress in Jackson.

Johnson's was the 40th homicide in the city of Jackson this year, police records show. Yet, few have generated as much interest as the Johnson killing. There was the killing of William "Nod" Brown in September, which most people seem happy chalking up to the simple consequences of ghetto violence. And Quardious Thomas, whose cause of death was ruled self-defense because a homeowner claims Thomas was breaking into his unoccupied car.

So why does Jackson media seem to care so much more about Jimmy Johnson...

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/16/14170/

Than William Brown?

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/16/14171/

In 1970, the University of Southern Mississippi defeated Ole Miss 30-14 in what, to this day, stands as one of the biggest upsets in Mississippi history.

Southern Miss was thrashed the week before by San Diego State, and got torn to pieces the next week by Mississippi State, but managed to beat Archie Manning and the No. 4-ranked Rebels because of a secret weapon.

That weapon was "Wee" Willie Heidelberg, who died Tuesday in Jackson. The then-20-year-old junior was the only black player on either team. He touched the ball three times, and scored twice.

As Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Director Rick Cleveland wrote:

Wee Willie was like a black dot on an ivory domino, the only black player on the field for either team that day. His performance foreshadowed sweeping changes in Deep South football. On this, the last day of Black History Month, it seems appropriate to ask the question: Was Heidelburg aware of the ramifications back then as a 20-year-old junior?

“Oh no,” Heidelburg says. “I knew that was a special victory. I knew we had done something big. But, as for me, I was just playing ball. I certainly wasn’t thinking about making history.”

Read more here.

Heidelberg eventually moved to Jackson and took a job coaching at Belhaven College. Many Jacksonians will remember him as the official scorekeeper for the high school basketball championships at "the big house."

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/12/14111/

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Josh Marks, a Chicago native who attended Tougaloo College and worked for a time in Vicksburg for the U.S. Army as a contract specialist, died Friday of a what the coroner has ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The victim, of the South Side, was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m. on the scene, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy conducted today ruled his death a suicide.

As an amateur chef, Marks was a contestant on the show Masterchef, having left Jackson to compete on the show's third season in 2012. In an article published by the JFP, Marks summed up his experience: Class Under Fire.

This past summer, Marks was arrested for assaulting a police officer and attempting to pull the officer's weapon; he faced multiple felony charges. According to the Tribune:

At the time of Marks' arrest in July, police say he claimed to have been possessed by "MasterChef" judge Gordon Ramsay who turned him into God. During the scuffle, officials say it took multiple officers to capture Marks, after he lunged at one and attempted to take his gun.

Just this past Wednesday a continuance was granted in the case to November 6th.

Apparently, in my native Missouri (also known as the most methy state in the nation), a billboard has popped up along an Interstate asking passersby to "Consider a contiguous 5-state secession" with Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri and Mississippi.

That's interesting.

For one, that would be a pretty weird-ass-shaped nation (see image below). And, two, I checked all the Mississippi secessionist blogs that I read on a regular basis and found no discussion of a secession plan including those five states.

The Missouri billboard also asks about the pros and cons of forming such a union.

Well, here's a quick list, off the top of our heads:

Pro: Finally, Mississippi gets to disassociate from the awfulness of Alabama and Arkansas. Con: Mississippi would no longer have Alabama and Arkansas to deflect some of the negative attention away from us.

Pro: Mississippi would no longer be considered part of the South. Con: Mississippi would no longer be part of the South.

Pro: Mississippi would have the nicest beaches in the country and be the nation's literary and cultural capital. Con: We still wouldn't have a Six Flags or a Dave & Buster's.

Pro: Being lumped in with Texas and Oklahoma, Mississippi's politics would come off as moderate. Con: The Mississippi Legislature would lose its distinction as the nation's nuttiest legislative body.

What are some more pros and cons?

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/11/14109/

Dear Magnolia State Meth Dealers:

Do not interpret this as a challenge.

But Mississippi is one of the least methy states in the nation, a new Huffington Post infographic shows.

Citing something called the Nationa(l) Security System, or NSS, HuffPost said that Mississippi had five meth-lab-related accidents in 2012.

Given Mississippi's ruralness and high rate of poverty -- both of which are key for optimal methy conditions -- you'd think the incidents would be much higher.

So what's our secret?

The report notes: "Oregon and Mississippi have figured out how to curb these accidents by making the key meth ingredient pseudoephedrine prescription-only."

The nation's most methy state was Missouri, with 1,825 meth incidents.

The state Department of Health has withheld nearly $600,000 from domestic-violence shelters over the past two years.

Some musical birthday wishes and new release info...

The Jackson City Council had a couple of hurdles to jump Tuesday morning to keep the city from losing up to 20 percent of its expected profits from the now-official water and sewer rate increases outlined in Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's 2014 budget.

Some were cleared; others were not.

The city will lose expected revenue it was set to receive from increased rates, but the rates will not be delayed as long as they could have been.

The motion to enact the rate increases, which will charge $4.47 per 100 cubic feet of metered water consumption for sewer service and $3.21 per 100 cubic feet for water consumption, was passed with a 5-2 vote, with LaRita Cooper-Stokes, Ward 3, and De'Keither Stamps, Ward 4, voting in opposition.

Here comes the technical part:

Rules of council procedures require a new ordinance, such as the one the city council passed Tuesday morning, to sit on the agenda for at least six days before the council puts it to a vote. After it's approved by a majority vote, the ordinance goes into effect 30 days after the vote.

The city attorney's office gave an extensive briefing on what would have to happen to bend both of those rules and make the rates go into effect immediately, but council did not heed that advice.

The council agreed unanimously to an expedited vote, forgoing the six-day waiting period, but because the final vote came back 5-2, the increased rates will still take 30 days to go into effect. A unanimous vote would have made the rate increases go into effect immediately.

"I was hoping for a unanimous vote," Council President Charles Tillman said. "But it's out of our hands now."

For more on water and sewer rate increases, be sure to pick up this week's edition of the JFP, which hits stands tomorrow, or check back to JacksonFreePress.com tomorrow.

Religious organizations are generally not allowed to donate to politicians, but often find clever ways to skirt the Internal Revenue Service prohibitions.

One way is just for the pastor and key church officials to personally make big contributions, and encourage their flock to do the same, to support candidates who share their values. Another is to allow candidates to speak to congregants directly, which lets the politician associate himself or herself with that particular house of worship.

Both are gray areas.

It's quite another thing, though, for a church to give directly to a political candidate. That's what appears to be happening in the case of Hinds County Democratic hopeful Willie Earl Robinson. Campaign finance reports show that Hill of Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Bolton made a donation of $500 to Robinson's campaign.

Robinson's challenger in the Hinds County District 2 race, Darrel McQuirter, is a pastor. The name of his church -- Pleasant Green Baptist Church -- does not appear on his finance reports, but McQuirter and his wife personally contributed more than $7,000 to the campaign coffers.

Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, charitable organizations (in fact, all corporations) are prohibited from making contributions in connection with federal elections. This is not a federal election. However, the IRS code, which applies to all organizations that have tax-exempt status, states: "(A)ll section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office."

A Guidestar.com search of 501c3 nonprofits as well as a search of charities through the Mississippi Secretary of State yielded no results for a Hill of Zion M.B. Church in Bolton.

An attempt to reach the church by phone this morning was not successful.

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The UAW is making unionization at Canton's Nissan plant an international effort.