Jackson Free Press

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."

The deeply "red" state of Kentucky -- the folks who put both Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul as in Senate (and, excruciatingly, on our TVs) -- is also the only Southern state that has expanded Medicaid in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.

They also implemented their own ACA online exchange, instead of relying on the Feds.

The result?

Kentucky’s experience has been exemplary: In its first day, 10,766 applications for health coverage were initiated, 6,909 completed and 2,989 families were enrolled. Obama himself bragged that Kentucky led the nation with its glitch-minimized performance.

Kentucky's opt-in attitude is the result of their Democratic governor, Steve Beshear, who has done end-arounds on his GOP-lead state Senate and poked his finger in the eye of the Tea Party. Focusing on the moral implications of improving healthcare access for the citizens in his state, Beshear is perfectly willing to tell the national media why he's willing to make ACA compliance a signature accomplishment of his tenure.

“[T]o those more worried about political power than Kentucky’s families, I say, ‘Get over it’…and get out of the way so I can help my people. Here in Kentucky, we cannot afford to waste another day or another life.”

And why is ACA popular in-of-all-places Kentucky? Is it because it gives people an opportunity to buy into their own health security and that of their families? Is it because it's an actual market-based solution -- a Republican idea from a few decades back, polished up and implemented first by Mitt Romney in Connecticut -- that might help lessen the burden on families, small businesses and, ultimately, on state coffers?

Time will tell, but it should be a cautionary tale for "red" state politicians -- such as, oh, Governor Phil Bryant -- who have taken the path of least resistance within their own party and buckled to their Tea Party and Talk Radio constituencies.

If Obamacare works -- especially since it now looks like the GOP is pretty much out of tricks to block it from getting started -- then folks like Phil are going to be on the losing end not just of a moment in political history, but of actually doing the right thing for the citizens of their state.

Jackson State is off to a hot start again this season, and is the only remaining unbeaten team in SWAC play. This weekend's matchup with Grambling State, which has lost 13-straight SWAC games and 17-straight overall, shouldn't do anything to derail that.

But this game just got interesting, with news surfacing yesterday that Grambling's players boycotted practice a day after they walked out of a team meeting with the school's administration on Tuesday.

Among the gripes players have for administration is mistrust between the team and the coaching staff, and the fact that the team had to bus from Grambling to Indianapolis to receive a 48-0 beat-down from Alcorn State, while the Braves flew in and out for the contest.

Grambling fired coach Doug Williams last month after the team lost their first two games this season by a combined score of 71-19.

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...

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Than William Brown?

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State Sen. Chris McDaniel, a Republican from Ellisville, is making an announcement this weekend about his political future, the blog Mississippi PEP reports.

McDaniel, a self-styled fiscal and values Tea Party conservative, has been rumored for some time to have his eyes on senior U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's seat. Anyone looking for proof of that needn't look any further an McDaniel's Wikipedia page, which was updated more than 50 times in April alone -- way more than a Mississippi state senator needs to (see below).

Cochran, whose conservative street cred is solid, but he has been criticized for being insufficiently right wing. Cochran has held the seat since the late 1970s and even at age 75 can probably hold on to the position until he gets good and damn ready to step aside.

"We are in difficult times. Our state and country are suffering from a lack of confidence in our current leaders. Our Republican Party is in the process of reinvesting in the principles that made us who we are, and that has not been an easy time," said McDaniel, who wasn't even a year old when Cochran first went to Congress in 1973, said through a press statement posted on the PEP blog.

“I hope my decision will aid in bringing us back to agreement on the values we all support and hold dear, and give Mississippians the ability to move forward into the future with a purpose of reclaiming those values for our children.”

I don't know McDaniel well, so it's hard to tell what his end game is. It's possible that McDaniel is positioning himself to the first to declare his intentions in case Cochran retires. In doing so, McDaniel also gets first crack at deep-pocketed Tea Party Mississippians who'll no doubt be getting hit up by several Republicans in case a Cochran departure yields a packed GOP primary.

Or, he's positioning himself for a primary run at Cochran because someone has convinced him (erroneously) that with the right people behind him, he could take down a wounded Cochran.

McDaniel might also just be displaying a bit of bravado to run for a statewide office in 2015 as the kid who had the cahones to lock horns with Thad.

We'll know for sure when he makes the announcement in Ellisville on Thursday, Oct. 17.

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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."

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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?

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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...

Jackson developer David Watkins is apparently not satisfied with losing control over the Farish Street renovation project, and is asking the Jackson Redevelopment Authority Board to reconsider their decision of two weeks ago to cut ties with the Farish Street Group, of which Watkins is the chief investor and developer.

You can read Watkins' letter to JRA Chairman Ronnie Crudup here.

This is the press release we just received from Watkins Development LLC:

---------------------Begin Press Release---------------------

The developer of the Farish Street entertainment district, Watkins Development LLC, has requested that the Jackson Redevelopment Authority (J.R.A.) reconsider their recent decision to cancel the leases and parcels in that area, where Watkins has spent millions of dollars on the historic urban renewal project. In a 10 page letter to the J.R.A., copied to the bulk of City government, Watkins legal counsel, Lance Stevens of Jackson, presents a lengthy historical account of the company’s accomplishments and unforeseen obstacles on the project, as well as the financial fallout which would accompany the developer’s ouster.

That letter is attached.

“We are encouraged by the new vision that Mayor Lumumba has brought to Jackson and feel certain that he will demand reconsideration of J.R.A.’s acts when our company is finally allowed to make a public or private presentation,” says David Watkins, the managing partner of Watkins Development.

The letter to J.R.A. references the fact that the leases were cancelled without consultation with Watkins’ group and without any presence at the meeting.

“The J.R.A. appears to be putting our fine city at risk–risk of destroying Farish Street’s hopes and risk of massive legal exposure–with their uninformed decision-making. They must be receiving no credible legal advice whatsoever,” says Watkins’ legal counsel, Lance Stevens. The letter to J.R.A. documents the $4.7 million that Watkins himself has invested in the property, while noting that the City and J.R.A., in particular, have not invested any money, despite scuttlebutt that City funds have been squandered.

“J.R.A. committed over $10 million in financing to the project and has utterly failed to contribute a nickel,” says Stevens. “The good news, however, is that with a timely reversal of their decision, the $5 million in tax credits can be salvaged, a protracted legal battle can be avoided and Farish Street can become our center for entertainment and local entrepreneurship."

The letter to J.R.A. documents that over $5 million in tax credits would be lost if Watkins Development is removed altogether from the project (as well as another $4 million in tax rebates), “dooming” the project, according to their counsel.

(Yes, I'm going to get all the mileage I can out of this Public Enemy-esque headline.)

A group called Mississippians for Affordable Energy picketed Tuesday night in Meridian to protest Mississippi Power Co.'s Kemper County coal-fired power plant.

Local TV station, WTOK reported: "The picketers say they were there in protest of the financial burdens on ratepayers as Mississippi Power constructs the lignite plant, as well as a fundraising dinner that was in progress tonight for Central District Public Service Commissioner Lynn Posey."

The news station noted that the protestors set up outside of Weidmann's, a fancy joint in downtown Meridian.

Posey, a Republican, has consistently voted in favor of Mississippi Power and Kemper. And even though Posey won't be up for re-election again for another couple years, it's possible that he is banking that the growing unpopularity and price tag of Kemper -- almost $5 billion -- won't sit well with central-district voters in 2015.

Meridian is approximately 30 miles south of where Kemper construction is taking place.

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.

Despite the storm, there's some good shows in New Orleans this weekend...

Yahoo! Sports has picked up a story from the Ole Miss student newspaper The Daily Mississippian that details the homophobic actions of at least 20 students, including members of the Ole Miss football team, during a play on campus in Oxford.

From the DM Online's story by writer Adam Ganucheau:

According to the the play's director and theater faculty member Rory Ledbetter, some audience members used derogatory slurs like “fag” and heckled both cast members and the characters they were portraying for their body types and sexual orientations. Ledbetter said the audience’s reactions included “borderline hate speech.”

The play was "The Laramie Project," a play about the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was gay. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were convicted of beating Shepard and tying him to a fence where he was left to die. Both received consecutive life sentences.

Emergency room care remains their only health-care option.

Jackson auditions are Oct. 5.