Jackson Free Press

There might be hope for the country after all. ABC reported yesterday (Wednesday, July 11) that uniforms that will be worn by team USA at the 2012 London Olympic Games were made in China.

Both Democrats and Republicans denounced the U.S. Olympic Committees decision to dress team USA in uniforms made in China. Chinese manufactured berets, blazers and pants while the American textile industry struggles economically with many U.S. workers desperate for jobs sparked the outrage.

"I am so upset. I think the Olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves. I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference on taxes.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference that she's proud of the nation's Olympic athletes, but, "They should be wearing uniforms that are made in America."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said simply of the USOC: "You'd think they'd know better."

Now if both sides could find common ground on all issues.

Leave your parking and traffic worries behind and let Jackson's JATRAN do the driving.

In addition to making his Food Network debut Sunday, Oct. 20, local chef Tom Ramsey is busy opening his first restaurant, La Finestra. The Italian eatery will open in the Plaza Building on Congress St. downtown the first week of November. Here's what he had to say about the restaurant:

This came together real fast. I got a call that this place was available. I came down and met the owner, and within a week, we had a deal struck. I got the keys on Oct. 1 and we’re turning it around in 30 days.

It’s called La Finestra, which means "the window." (He gestures to the walls of floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding the space in a corner of the ground floor of the Plaza Building downtown). It is traditional Italian food, very affordable. We make all the pastas in-house, all the sauces from scratch.

Well, initially I though I would open a burger place. When I came down to see the space, I had my son Whit with me. I said, “You know, it doesn’t really look like a burger place,” and my son said, “It looks like an Italian restaurant.” And I said, “Ooooooh.”

Anytime I have a concept for a restaurant, I write a menu. So I went home and wrote an Italian menu, and really liked the way it was coming together. I just made a decision that night to go Italian. We're really excited about the direction its going.

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

The legislative session has not been without drama. But with the deadline to introduce general bills passing earlier this week, it seems like there have been relatively few bills related to traditional red-meat issues.

Only one bill title mentions abortion and it was put forth by Rep. Nick Bain, D-Corinth. Bain's bill, HB 513, says that "any discussion of abortion must be presented from the medical perspective of the potential long-term and short-term hazards presented to patients as the result of having the procedure performed."

Sen. Michael Watson, a R-Pascagoula, has a bill that would make it a felony if exposing a fetus or a child to a controlled substance or chemical substance causes serious physical injury to the child or fetus. Watson's bill carves out exceptions for legally administered prescription drugs.

Attempts at regulating immigration are also non-existent thus far. Besides a bill from Rep. Reecy Dickson, D-Macon, that authorizes a task force to study the role of immigrant communities in alleviating poverty, we haven't seen renewed attempts to impose strict show-your-papers kinds of immigration bills (at least not yet).

That said, there are a handful of gun bills.

U.S. Senate hopeful Chris McDaniel would prohibit state cooperation with any federal effort to ban firearms. Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune, has a similar bill in the House. Another proposal, from Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, makes certain exceptions to concealed-carry permits for gun and ammo-related companies.

Here's the statement from the office of Congressman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat who represents the Mississippi Delta in the the U.S. House of Representatives, on today's vote in the House to pass a Farm Bill.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02) released the following statement regarding his vote in support of H.R. 2642 (Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management FARRM Act), also known as the Farm Bill:

“I am pleased with today’s bi-partisan efforts to pass the Farm Bill of 2013. Today’s bill provides a safety net for farmers, while ensuring that no Mississippian participating in SNAP will see a decrease in their benefits. This legislation ensures that foreign grown fish will be subject to the same rigorous inspection as Mississippi Farm Raised Catfish. And this bill will provide funding for agriculture research at Alcorn State University, and for wildlife conservation programs in Mississippi.”

“Agriculture is Mississippi’s number one industry, employing over 29% of our state’s workforce. I am pleased that Mississippi’s over 42,000 farmers will now benefit from a robust federally backed crop insurance program. Today’s Farm Bill will also fund infrastructure projects, community facilities, small business grants and loans in rural areas through the USDA’s Rural Development programs, helping to boost Mississippi’s economy and increase job growth. I support today’s Farm Bill and urge my colleagues in the Senate to move quickly on this legislation,” said Congressman Thompson.

New music for this week...

New music for this week...

Woodrow Wilson Drive's eastbound lanes will be reduced to one lane in preparation for major repair work on the water lines below the road. Once repair work begins, traffic will be re-routed to State Street, but no contractor has been named so the street will remain open until a contractor is found and repair work begins. The project could take up to two months once construction begins.

Read the City of Jackson's press release (in full) below:

"Beginning Thursday, Jan. 7, City of Jackson Department of Public Works crews are switching eastbound traffic to the north lane of Woodrow Wilson Drive instead of the south lane. Motorists are encouraged to proceed with caution and drive at a reasonable speed.

The City is moving forward with the project to repair a major water main break on Woodrow Wilson Drive. The road remains passable for motorists as crews continuously assess the condition of the site to keep it safe until the repair work can begin.

Engineers have designed the repair, which is complex because of the location, the materials for the pipe and the laying conditions. This project requires a custom built new pipe as the break occurred on a 36-inch water line constructed in the 1960s. The pipe needs to be encased, which requires engineering design and a contractor. This repair cannot be made in-house.

The City is currently reviewing a contract for a contractor. Upon approval, work will begin and could take approximately two months to complete because of the complexity of the repair. During that time, traffic will be rerouted to State Street. The public will be informed of the detour in advance."

House Speaker Philip Gunn released a statement defending his position on the state flag, after all filed bills to change the state flag referred to the House Rules Committee died today. No Senate or House flag bill made it out of committee by today's deadline.

Gunn's statement is below, verbatim:

"For anyone to suggest I have surrendered or backed up on my position of changing the flag is simply not true," said Speaker of the House Philip Gunn. "I have not wavered in my viewpoint that we need a different flag to represent Mississippi. I have spoken with many House members both individually and collectively and have tried to convince them to adopt my view."

“I have explored every option from taking legislative action to change the flag to adopting two official flags, but we cannot get a consensus on how to address the issue,” he continued. "I will continue to stand by my view that changing the flag is the right thing to do. The flag is going to change. We can deal with it now or leave for future generations to address. I believe our state needs to address it now. I am disappointed that nothing took shape this year, but I will continue this effort."

Super Tuesday is here, with 865 pledged delegates up for grabs for the Democratic candidates and 595 available to the Republican candidates. Here's a visual guide to the states in play and the delegate counts.

Here's the Presidential Primary tracker, updated as results come in:

The JXN Trailblazers is a group dedicated to encouraging and promoting the building a multi-use trail from the Farmers' Market in downtown Jackson to the Lefleur's museum district centered at Lakeland Drive just east of I-55.

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

Hood issued this statement in response:

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

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/feb/04/10128/

The U.S. Men’s Natoinal Team begins the final round of World Cup Qualifying Wednesday at 3 p.m. against Honduras in the city of San Pedro Sula. Here’s what to watch for in 2013 as The Yanks try to earn a spot in Brazil in 2014.

If/When Landon Donovan will join the team. The 30-year-old forward has been the face of U.S. soccer since being named “Best Young Player” at the 2002 World Cup. Donovan told the media he needed a break in October 2012, due to physical and mental exhaustion.

I've never been a fan of Donovan's on-the-field attitude. In recent years, he's clearly not been enjoying the game the way he should. USMNT needs him to get his head straight, though, because there's no American who can match his combination of speed, vision, passing efficiency, timing and shot and set-piece accuracy.

He won’t play in Honduras Wednesday. Just when the U.S.’s all-time assists and goals leader will join the team is even more pressing considering the team faces rival Mexico in Mexico City on March 26, where the U.S. won for the first time Aug. 15, 2012.

Subquestion: Can he be the leader the U.S. needs him to be if/when he returns to the pitch?

Will outside backs emerge? Injuries to Steve Cherundolo and Fabian Johnson have left the U.S. team with little international experience at outside back, and head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is searching for answers. Outside backs Tony Beltran and Justin Morrow, and center back Matt Besler made their U.S. soccer debuts against Canada Jan. 29, all in starting roles. They played well, allowing Canada just one shot on target in the 0-0 match.

Whoever Klinsmann puts on the back line against Honduras will face a better team with a lot more on the line, though. Goalkeeper Tim Howard may have a heavy shot load to take on Wednesday.

Will Jozy Altidore take the next step? The 23-year-old striker has scored 13 goals in 51 appearances for the U.S. since 2007. His 2010 World Cup performances were riddled with missed chances and squandered opportunities, though.

Altidore has 15 goals in 19 Dutch Eredivisie league appearances for AZ Alkmaar this season, despite facing racist taunts from opposing fans. If he can carry that composure over into international competition, the U.S. could have the star striker it so desperately needs.

How good is Dempsey? After finishing tied for fourth in the English Premier League last season with 17 goals while playing for Fulham, Dempsey has just five goals in 19 league matches for Tottenham Hotspur this season.

With two double-digit goal scorers on the team, Tottenham doesn’t rely on Dempsey to score as much as Fulham did. There is one thing for certain, though. For the U.S. to go very far in next year’s World Cup, or to even qualify this year, Dempsey will have to create chances on goal, and capitalize when he does.

Can The Yanks find …