Jackson Free Press

Here's the list of election night watch parties we've cobbled together. We'll update it as we get more information:

Harvey Johnson Campaign Headquarters, 4436 North State Street

Jonathan Lee The Penguin, 1100 J.R. Lynch Street

Chokwe Lumumba Clarion Hotel, 5075 Interstate 55

Regina Quinn Regency Hotel, 400 Greymont Ave.

See the new Paul McCartney video filmed partly in Natchez...

With only four council members present tonight, the bill passed 3-to-1, with Councilman De'Keither Stamps voted against it. Follow @jxnfreepress on Twitter for updates and read reporter Arielle Dreher's earlier story on the controversy for background on the controversy.

Story developing ...

Not a bad week for our college football teams. Overall, most of the state's college pulled off victories. The big winner last week was Mississippi State.

Jackson television station WLBT is reporting that JPD Chief Rebecca Coleman has resigned.

The 61-year-old Coleman has served as a JPD officer for 24 years.

Mayor-elect Chokwe Lumumba said at a WAPT/Clarion-Ledger debate at Mississippi College's School of Law that, if elected, he would replace Coleman.

Coleman told WLBT her plans are to "take it easy for a while," do some traveling and volunteer work.

The University of Mississippi's Acting Chancellor Morris H. Stocks just issued this verbatim statement:

"The University of Mississippi community came to the realization years ago that the confederate battle flag did not represent many of our core values such as civility and respect for others. Since that time, we have become a stronger and better university. We join other leaders in our state who are calling for a change in the state flag."

Time for my weekly thoughts on the previous NFL week. My thoughts on the New Orleans Saints game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be posted tomorrow.

As College Gameday prepares for their second visit in Mississippi for the second week in a row, and the first time at Mississippi State, the stakes keep getting higher for the Rebels and Bulldogs. Both teams are tied for third in the AP Top 25 football poll, and the eyes of the football world are once again on the Magnolia State.

Neither the Rebels nor Bulldogs are out of the playoffs with a loss this weekend. That is, unless the voters decide both we're frauds and dump our teams down the polls.

Texas A&M has more at stake this weekend than Ole Miss. The Aggies are coming off a lose to Mississippi State, and a Rebels victory would put an end to Texas A&M's playoff hopes.

Ole Miss must get past the Aggies to get a break in their schedule. Well, at least as much of a break you can get in the SEC.

The Rebels get Tennessee next Saturday at home before traveling to LSU. The Volunteers are an improved football team, and LSU is young but playing in Tiger Stadium is never an easy win.

A win this weekend means the Rebels could climb all the way to up to No. 2 or take sole possession of third place. It would be a step closer to the playoffs and a SEC West title.

Beating the Aggies would leave just Auburn and Mississippi State as the major tests left on the schedule. Sure, Arkansas is in the mix but, even as improved as the Razorbacks are this season, the Rebels should get a win like against LSU and Tennessee.

After this weekend, the road is wide open for the Rebels. Just about all the major stumbling blocks will be out of the way.

Mississippi State has a chance to move up to No. 2 in the nation with a win over Auburn. Much like Ole Miss, the road for the Bulldogs gets a lot lighter for a while after this weekend.

MSU gets Kentucky and Arkansas in SEC action. The Wildcats are improved like the Razorbacks, but that shouldn't trouble the Bulldogs much.

The road gets harder after that with road trips to Alabama and Ole Miss to finish out the season with a home date against Vanderbilt sandwiched between those two games.

This weekend sets up a nice stretch for both the Rebels and Bulldogs. After this weekend, much of the heavy lifting is over.

Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott has the most at stake this weekend. He can become the Heisman front runner with a solid-to-great game and a win. His counterpart Nick Marshall of Auburn could also take the lead.

Prescott can put a lock on the award with his normal play against Auburn. He can lock up the award with big games against Kentucky, Arkansas, and UT-Martin.

Keys to Rebels and Bulldogs wins

Things are easy for the Rebels. Just use the same …

Todd (with guest star Mukesh Kumar) reviews Six Hop IPA, a higher-alcohol beer with a suprisingly smooth flavor.

Someone just forwarded me a letter they say was distributed today at Cade Chapel M.B. Church that appears to be from former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. asking for support in his run in the special mayor election. We have been hearing that he is running again, and are trying to confirm it from him directly. Here is a JPG of the letter forwarded to us. I apologize that it's a bit blurry.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/mar/09/16321/

Here's a look at the Flaming Lips kicking off their 8th show in 24 hours at the House of Blues in New Orleans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc_2zjhRFyM

Check back for more videos:

Interviews with Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips and Chris Pontius of Jackass

Watch Chris Pontius lead the parade down Decatur Street in New Orleans to the House of Blues

See behind the scenes of the O Music Awards and the Flaming Lips world-record tour

And many, many photos to come...

Beer lovers: Our readers need your help! As you find and taste new craft beers previously unavailable in Mississippi, please take a minute and post them here (or tweet with hashtag #beermonth and we'll add them!).

Meantime, see the JFP's special Beer Month archive here, including a JFP v. RYP taste.

Cheers! (And drive safely, or don't drive!).

The campaign to elect Chokwe Lumumba as Jackson's next mayor just posted a video of rapper Ludacris endorsing Lumumba for mayor and urging Jacksonians to vote today.

You can see the video here.

The secret, underground Quentin Whitwell write-in campaign could be doomed if they don't get an emergency endorsement from Chingy in the next hour.

Jackson State University will replace head football Coach Rick Comegy, the university announced today.

A search for Comegy’s successor will begin immediately, JSU Director of Athletics Vivian L. Fuller said.

“We are grateful to Coach Comegy and his staff for their service to Jackson State,” Fuller said. “We appreciate the work he has done with JSU athletics and we wish him well.” Comegy was 55-35 in eight seasons at JSU.

A press conference to discuss Comegy's dismissal is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Services for late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba are scheduled for Saturday, March 8 at 11 a.m. at the Jackson Convention Center. There will be a wake on Friday, March 7 at City Hall, according to administration officials.

Lumumba died Tuesday at St. Dominic's Hospital at the age of 66 with his long-time partner, Gloria Elmore, at his side. So far, no official cause of death is known.

Read more about Lumumba here.

In a week that can't get any better, not even an story on an endorsement can be lame.

The Jackson Police Officers Association announced yesterday their endorsement of mayoral candidate and former south Jackson business owner Jonathan Lee.

Lee was hailed by that group's president, Earnest Perry, as a "visionary" and "a strong leader with a willingness to work with local and state government."

Reached by phone on Monday, Perry backed up sentiment in the groups press release that the interview process was thorough, and that five candidates (Lee, Regina Quinn, Robert Amos, Chokwe Lumumba and Harvey Johnson, Jr.) were interviewed. He called Johnson's interview "intensive."

The problem is, Earnest Perry is not a police officer. He was a JPD detective until 2009, when then-chief Malcolm McMillan transferred him because he violated city policy regarding Fuelman, though no charges were ever filed against him.

In response to the JPOAs endorsement announcement Monday, the campaign to re-elect Harvey Johnson, Jr. released this statement minutes ago:

"Recently, our campaign, along with other candidates for mayor, was invited to meet with the Jackson Police Officer Association (JPOA). The meeting was presided over by a person who is no longer an active police officer and recently separated from the department. The tone of the meeting made me very uncomfortable, as it became clear that in order to receive an endorsement of my candidacy, I would have to specifically agree to change the command staff and management at JPD. It is not unreasonable to believe that the candidate for mayor that the group endorsed agreed to those demands. As Mayor and as a candidate for mayor I simply cannot permit the sound administration of JPD to become the product of a backroom political deal.

"JPOA is not the same organization I have known and recognized over the years. It is now comprised of less than 10% of JPD’s rank and file officers. A disproportionate number of the officers in this group, having been disciplined for various infractions, appear to be disgruntled with the more rigorous standards implemented by our command staff. The vast number of officers, however, are successfully meeting the challenges associated with a large paramilitary organization operating in an urban environment. This administration will continue to strive to make JPD the best law enforcement agency in the region by insuring that our officers are well trained, equipped, compensated, and likewise treated fairly in their work assignments."

On Monday, Perry described the group that did the interviews as "very diverse," and said it was made up of 10 panelists from various backgrounds, including a fire department union member, a city worker union member, a neighborhood watch president, and local businessmen and lawyers.

Lee did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday afternoon.

Verbatim statement from the US DOJ:

MISSISSIPPI CORPORATION PLEADS GUILTY AND AGREES TO $ 1 MILLION FINE FOR ILLEGALLY FILLING PROTECTED WETLANDS

WASHINGTON – Mississippi-based Hancock County Land LLC (HCL) pleaded guilty today to the unpermitted filling of wetlands near Bay St. Louis, Miss., and agreed to pay a $1 million fine and take remedial measures for two felony violations of the Clean Water Act, announced Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Gregory K. Davis. HCL admitted causing the unauthorized excavation and filling of wetlands on a 1,710 acre parcel of undeveloped property in Hancock County, west of the intersection of Route 603 and Interstate 10.

According to the charges filed in federal court in Jackson, Miss., when HCL purchased the property, it had been informed by a wetland expert that as much as 80 percent of its land was federally protected wetland connected by streams and bayous to the Gulf of Mexico and, therefore, that the property could not be developed without a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Such permits typically require that developers protect and preserve other wetlands to compensate for those they are permitted to fill and destroy.

The charges allege that in spite of additional notice of the prohibition against filling and draining wetlands without authorization, HCL, principally through its minority owner /general contractor, hired an excavation contractor to trench, drain and fill large portions of the property to lower the water table and thus to destroy the wetland that would otherwise have been an impediment to commercial development. In pleading guilty, HCL admitted that it knowingly ditched, drained and filled wetlands at multiple locations on the Hancock County property without having obtained a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers as required under the Clean Water Act.

It is a felony under the Clean Water Act for any person knowingly to discharge pollutants into waters of the United States, including wetlands, without a permit. A corporation convicted of this offense is subject to a penalty of not more than $500,000 per count.

HCL agreed and was ordered to pay to the federal government a total penalty of $1 million ($500,000 for each of the two counts). HCL also agreed and was ordered by the court to restore and preserve the damaged wetlands as provided in separate agreements HCL reached with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a citizen group, the Gulf Restoration Network. The agreements require HCL to re-grade and then re-plant, with appropriate native vegetation, the wetland area it excavated and filled and donate approximately 272 acres of the southwest quadrant of its property to the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain to be preserved in perpetuity. HCL is also required to fund its management and maintenance, to pay $100,000 toward the litigation costs of the Gulf Restoratio

Cover Mississippi is taking on the challenges of educating and enrolling Mississippians in the new health insurance market place.

Emergency room care remains their only health-care option.

I've been to most of the debates during this mayoral election season, and to be perfectly honest, they have not shed a great deal of light on the candidates and their positions. Here's the question I think most voters would say needs to be asked of each candidate.