Snoop, Swamp Babies, and new stuff...

Gov. Phil Bryant has proclaimed February as Voter Registration Month. He and fellow Republican Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann are urging Mississippi citizens to register to vote for upcoming party primaries--and not to forget their voter IDs.

Mississippi's voter-ID law is scheduled to be in place for the June 3 statewide primary. This comes after years of legal wrangling and claims from civil-liberties groups who say the law might deter African Americans and other minorities from bothering to try to vote.

But The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for voter ID last summer when the court's majority ruled unconstitutional parts of the Voting Rights Act that required some states to obtain federal approval for voting changes. The ruling basically said that in the past 40+ years states like Mississippi had suffered enough punishment for rigging its electoral system to keep blacks away from the polls for the past 100+ years.

The fact that the Voter Registration proclamation-cum-voter-ID reminder is taking place at the start of Black History Month is probably 100 percent, purely coincidental.

Or it's 100 percent, purely intentional.

Here's the release from Bryant's office, though:

Jackson, Miss.— With the new photo identification requirement beginning June 3rd, Governor Phil Bryant and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann want Mississippians to remember the key to our democracy lies with voting. Therefore, the Governor has proclaimed February Voter Registration Month in Mississippi.

“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our nation, and countless service men and women have given their lives in defense of this freedom,” Gov. Phil Bryant said. “I encourage Mississippians to register to vote and participate in the electoral process at the local, state and federal levels.”

“We believe there are approximately 360,000 Mississippians over the age of 18 who are not registered to vote,” says Secretary Hosemann. “Voting is our most important right. We thank Governor Bryant for his commitment to the electoral process and hope this designation will encourage Mississippians to register to vote.”

To register to vote in Mississippi, you must be:

• A resident of the State and the county/city for thirty (30) days prior to the election; • At least 18-years-old by the date of the general election; • Not convicted of a disenfranchising crime; and, • Not adjudicated mentally incompetent. • A statewide primary election will be held in Mississippi on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The voter registration deadline for that election is Saturday, May 3, 2014, at 12 p.m. A statewide general election will be held in Mississippi on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. The voter registration deadline for that election is Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, at 12 p.m. To register to vote, please visit your local circuit clerk’s office or, you may download a voter registration form on the Secretary of State’s website at http://sos.ms.gov/links/elections/voter_information_center/tab1/Voter_Registration.pdf.

For information regarding the voter identification requirement, please contact 1-844-MSVoter or visit www.MSVoterID.com.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/feb/05/15816/

It hardly seems like yesterday that LaRita Cooper-Stokes was running for Ward 3 councilwoman and then running again when a judge ordered a new election, which she also won. But it wasn't yesterday. It was spring 2012, after Cooper-Stokes' husband, Kenneth, won a seat on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors.

Now, the Jackson Advocate is reporting that Cooper-Stokes will run for Hind County Circuit Court judge long before serving out her entire first term. Both Stokeses went to law school and both have a penchant for missing important meetings, so it'll be interesting to see how she conducts business on the bench. It could also mean a whole lot of recusals for Mr. Stokes, who, as a supervisor, approves all the county's bills including those for the courts.

Sorry I don't have more information, but I didn't have $.50 on me to buy a copy of the Advocate and the story is not yet posted on its website.

When working on this week's Super Bowl preview and prediction, I came across more information than I could fit in a single article for the paper. So, I figured with the big game just a couple of days away, why not share some of the rest of the information I found that I couldn't use in print.

Between the print article and the paper, you should be able to have plenty of stats and information to spread around at any Super Bowl Party you are attending. If you missed the print article here is the link.

Also, if you missed my rant this week, here is a link to it as well.

If anyone is hoping for the weather to warm up on Super Bowl Sunday, it is Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. In the playoffs when the temperature is under 40 degrees, Manning is 0-3 (to be fair as well all three of those games were on the road).

The coldest non-domed Super Bowl was at Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3. The game was played in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium and the high was 43 and the low was 24.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, has only played in one game under 40 degrees. That was week 15 of this season against the New York Giants, in what will be stadium the game will be played in this Sunday. The Seahawks won that game 23-0.

Manning and Wilson will set a Super Bowl record when the game kicks off. The two quarterbacks will set the record for biggest age difference between two quarterbacks. There is a 12 year and 250 days difference in age between the two starting single callers.

At 25, Wilson would join both Joe Montana and Joe Namath also won the big game at the age of 25. The Seahawks quarterback also has the most wins at 27 (including playoffs) for a second year quarterback starting the Super Bowl.

Manning has the Super Bowl experience, which is good but Wilson has some recent Super Bowl numbers on his side. Quarterbacks with previous Super Bowl experience have been in 19 Super Bowls and those quarterbacks have a 10-9 record.

Wilson has the recent history on his side. The quarterbacks with experience haven't fared so well as the quarterbacks without experience have won the last three straight (Eli Manning over Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers over Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees over Manning).

Both these teams meet in the preseason this year. That is important if anyone tells you the preseason meeting doesn't matter.

This will be the seventh time, since 1994, teams who faced off in the preseason play in the Super Bowl. The team that won the meaningless game went on to win five of the six previous Super Bowls.

In the preseason Seattle beat Denver 40-10.

These two teams have meet 52 times in regular …

For the longest time, even though the alcohol content of New Belgium Brewing Co.'s flagship beer, Fat Tire Amber Ale, was low enough to be sold under Mississippi's draconian limits for beer, the company chose not to offer Fat Tire in the Magnolia State.

If they couldn't sell all their beers, they wouldn't sell any of them, the thinking went.

Two years ago, though, the Mississippi Legislature raised the limit on beer, resulting in a flood of flavorful new varieties to taps and supermarket aisles. Now, Fort Collins, Colo.-based New Belgium is expanding into central Mississippi, Capital City Beverages Inc. recently announced.

True to the brewers' wish, Cap City posted on Facebook, that they are bringing New Belgium's entire portfolio of beers, which includes Fat Tire, Ranger IPA, Abbey and Trippel, starting in early March.

New releases and Pat Metheny...

Richard Sherman surprised some NFL fans in his post-game interview with Erin Andrews after batting down a last-minute pass in the end zone to deny the San Francisco 49ners a game-winner and sending his team, the Seattle Seahawks, to the Super Bowl. (I thought it was basically funny, and chalked it up to him being in trash-talk war with his opponent and helping deliver his team to the Super Bowl.

Today he gave a press conference to tell his side of the controversy that's gone viral, making a good point about the [use of the word "thug" in modern parlance][1]. As quoted in Business Insider:

"The only reason it bothers me is that it seems like it’s the accepted way of calling people the n-word nowadays. … What’s the definition of a thug, really? Can a guy on the football field, just talking to people — maybe I’m talking loudly, or doing something I’m not supposed to be. But there was a hockey game where they didn’t even play hockey, they just threw the puck aside and started fighting. I saw that and I thought, 'Oh man, I’m a thug?' So I’m really disappointed in being called a thug."

Sherman's personal story has been in the news this week -- he was a good student as a youngster who overcame his Compton background to play football and get a degree form Stanford -- and he makes a point that folks who slide a little too easily into calling him a "thug" may be doing it out of a habit that they need to break. Food for thought.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-sherman-thug-2014-1#ixzz2rGQ4a1EX

So the old-school Republican strategist Haley Barbour has stuck his foot in his mouth again, perhaps purposefully. He went on CNN to defend New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration, which is under fire for various corruption allegations, including a serious accusation by Hoboken, N.J., Mayor Dawn Zimmer. When Barbour appeared on camera to downplay the allegations, he just looked and sounded like a garden-variety sexist grandpa when he called Zimmer a "lady mayor." As in, what the hell does her gender have to do with anything?!? And why would a man supposedly as smart as Barbour make such an error?

It could have been purposeful, of course, considering that the base of Barbour's party hasn't realized that we have moved into the 21st century and that blatant sexism ain't cool or attractive, and it sure won't attract the kinds of younger voters the GOP will desperately need to survive.

So how exactly does this help Christie get into the White House? The national GOP might think seriously before letting such an old-school political strategist speak for their candidates. Don't forget, after all, that he was the one who tried to pretend that the Citizens Council had good intentions in his hometown.

Most frustrating, this ignorance on a national stage once again makes Mississippi look bad.

Blech.

Tons of new releases and Best of Jackson...

Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, has a bill that would require the death penalty in statutory rape cases where the victim is 13 years old or younger and when the defendant is 18 or older.

Read the full text of Moore's House Bill 92 here.

The numbers are in, and it looks like the soon-to-be-law, one-percent local option sales tax won in every precinct last Tuesday.

The results, which you can view here, show that the vote received the highest support in north Jackson, but enjoyed widespread support throughout the city's seven wards.

The four wards with the highest turnout went overwhelmingly for the measure. To wit:

• Ward 35, which votes at Spann Elementary School in Ward 1, voted 475-34 in favor of the tax.
• Ward 45, which votes at St. Philips Episcopal Church in Ward 1, voted 463-48 in favor of the tax.
• Ward 46, which votes at Christ United Methodist Church in Ward 1, voted 689-90 in favor of the tax.
• Ward 83, which votes at New Hope Baptist Church in Ward 2, voted 648-38 in favor of the tax.

A recent listing on online classified ads web page Craigslist shows that the old Broadmoor Baptist Church on East Northside Drive is for sale for $2.8 million. The building most recently went under the title of Wesley Biblical Seminary.

I'm not sure who is looking to buy a church and is surfing Craigslist with a budget near $3 million, but the listing is complete with pictures of the property, which is in surprisingly good condition.

The building features seating for 750 in the updated sanctuary, "dozens of offices, tons of rooms (over 100), (a) 250-seat chapel, (a) 120-capacity lecture hall, choir rehearsal room, heated baptistry, commercial kitchen and large fellowship hall... ."

It also contains conference rooms, a board room, an organ, video surveillance capability, an elevator, parking for 500 of your closest friends.

But forget all that. Here's the kicker – the building includes a gym and a four-lane bowling alley and an apartment. With all the talk about charter schools** in the city, this could be primed to be a location for one.

Can anyone else think of a way this building could be used (other than the obvious - a church)?

** Please do not consider this an endorsement of charter schools.

I received this stunning letter a couple days ago from a (white, I think) man in Pearl, presumably in response to my recent column about the abominable Mississippi state flag. I post it now without comment but will be back along with some thoughts later. Here it is, verbatim:

Please permit me to submit the following letter to Jackson Free Press:

Some of us have heard the question "What happens when an unstoppable force hits an immovable object?" The puzzle might seem a bit superficial until one notices we have a similar problem concerning our state flag.

I think the JFP has well demonstrated that the Confederate emblem on the Mississippi flag continues to cause hurtful memories to blacks who have endured the horrors of segregation and the Civil Rights era.

So why would so many Mississippians continue to resist changing such a hated symbol of our state's dark past? Ignorance? Bigotry? Could there still be some unspoken reason why many white southerners insist on keeping our flag in its current form?

Hey. We want progress. So let's just go ahead and bring it out in the open.

Just as the current Confederate emblem causes hurtful memories to our state's blacks, the absence of the symbol would cause hurtful memories to many white southerners. And I do not mean just segregationists.

To many whites, the erasure of the Confederate emblem would be an unreciprocated nod to the kind of blacks who attempted, and in some cases, DID seize control of Jackson's schools by force, who pulled knives on white students and threatened them with violence, who stole my brother's school books and urged him to steal from my parents to get money to get his books back.

The erasure would be seen as a nod to "gangsta rap" stars who record songs saturated with sexualized slang and glorify abusing women. It would be seen as a nod to people who have petitioned the NBA to declassify the use of the "MF" word as a technical foul because it is part of "black culture."

To be blunt, there are some facets of "black culture" many of us do not want in Mississippi culture. THAT is what some Mississippi southerners are afraid of.

Though voters decided by referendum to keep our current flag, one can argue that we must have a system in place to protect people from a tyranny of the majority. But there is a bit of a corollary to that here.

If Mississippi blacks are a minority, there is a tiny minority to THAT minority. There are some blacks who want to keep our current flag. Some support groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans because they are proud to be the descendants of black soldiers who fought for the CSA. Should not their rights be considered too?

But my position is not based entirely on fairness. Perhaps we should lose the current flag.

But that is not going to happen until we have answered the …

JazzFest and New Releases...

After years of planning, Whole Foods Market in Jackson is opening in less than one month. Here's the full, verbatim release from the company:

JACKSON, MS (January 10, 2014) Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) announces it will open its doorsTuesday, February 4, at 9 a.m. at Highland Village, 4500 I-55 North in Jackson. The 34,000 square-foot store features an organic salad bar, in-store smoked barbecue, fresh-made gelato, natural body care and nutritional supplements, beer growler filling station and the Yazoo Bend Coffee & Taproom with 4 beers on tap.

“We really look forward to finally opening our doors and being part of the Jackson community,” said Marty Cribb, Store Team Leader for Whole Foods Market, Jackson. “We offer a unique grocery shopping experience, but we also give back to the community through our 5% Days, local vendor partnerships, and donations.”

Whole Foods Market will also offer an early look at its first Mississippi store with sneak-preview tours. For a $5 donation to The Literacy Garden at the Mississippi Children’s Museum, curious customers can take a pre-opening tour of the store at a specified time slot. Tours are scheduled between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, January 31, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, February 1. Tour attendees will be the first to get a glimpse of the new store, learn a bit about Whole Foods Market and the store highlights, taste samples, and receive a goodie bag.

Advance registration is required, register TODAY! http://jackson.wholefoodsrsvp.com/

The store opens for business Tuesday, February 4, immediately following a bread-breaking ceremony (Whole Foods Market’s version of a ribbon-cutting,) with city officials and special guests. Customers arriving between 8 - 8:30 a.m. receive a free raffle ticket and are automatically entered for a chance to win a gift card ranging from $5-500. There will be 100 winners!

Merchant of Vino by Whole Foods Market, the 950 sq. ft. wine & spirits shop adjacent to the larger grocery store, will open at a later date with its own celebration! Whole Foods Market added approximately 120 additional jobs to the Jackson market and has been named by FORTUNE® magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in the U.S. for 16 consecutive years – every year since the List’s inception.

What fire officials are calling a "major" industrial fire is burning in downtown Jackson.

Few details are available but the fire is located in a building on South Jefferson street, near the offices of WLBT-TV.

No cause has been made available.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/jan/09/15297/

The few new releases that hit the streets this week...

After his election as mayor, one of the biggest questions hanging over Chokwe Lumumba's new administration was what kind of relationship he would have with the state Legislature.

Historically, that relationship has been icier than our weather the past few days. Lumumba's predecessor, Harvey Johnson Jr., wasn't known as someone who liked to hobnob and press the flesh.

Today, Lumumba opened what he called a new "era of cooperation" as he gave the Legislature a warm welcome to the capital city.

"I want you to feel welcome; I want you to to feel like you're home. Go out and spend lots of money," Lumumba told members of the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Lumumba even recommended a couple of his favorite haunts, Chitoes African Deli in west Jackson and Pearl's Southern Kitchen on Terry Road, and urged members in need of a new set of wheels to stop in at a Jackson car dealership.

Then, he struck a slightly more serious tone.

"Vote for all the pro-Jackson stuff," he said. "What's good for Jackson is good for Mississippi and what's good for Mississippi is good for Jackson."

Read more about the city of Jackson's legislative agenda.

There's a new place for state government news, commentary and analysis. It's called Rethink Mississippi, and it's a project of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at Ole Miss.

According to the site's "about us" page, Rethink Mississippi "is a forum for insight, analysis, and debate about Mississippi’s critical long-term issues — run by and intended for the people committed to working on these issues in the future. RM offers a space for Mississippi’s emerging leaders to be heard, and, more importantly, to hear from each other. In short, we want the people who will shape the public policy of tomorrow discussing it today at RM."

Brent's Drugs in Fondren is set to host CROSSHATCH, a fundraiser for Fund the Hatch, a mixed-use creative business incubator the old warehouse building at 143 Keener Ave. in Midtown.

The JFP first wrote about the incubator on April 3, 2013, and project's lead promoter/developer/fund-raiser Whitney Grant of Midtown Partners has been working since then to find a workable, self-sustaining system for the building to operate under and the funding to bring it to a reality.

The event at Brent's is set for 8 p.m., Friday, January 10. It will feature music, an arts raffle and drinks and is scheduled to roll 'til midnight.

The Indiegogo campaign for the Hatch has 13 days left, and it's currently raised approximately $4,800 out of the $25,000 goal.

Check it out.