Jackson Free Press

Councilman Tyrone Hendrix is calling together some heavy hitters to discuss strategies for dealing with crime in South Jackson, this Thursday, February 11, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will take place in the cafeteria of Wingfield High School (1985 Scanlon Drive).

“The time to take action is now,” said Hendrix in a press release. “We must work collectively and engage in an open conversation to take a community-oriented approach to take back our communities.”

The panel for the discussion includes Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance, District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith, Hinds County Sherriff Victor Mason, and Creston Hills Watch Group President Johns Sledge.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is said to focus on developing strategies to combat crime, engaging local leaders in an open conversation about community-oriented solutions to crime and empowering residents to improve the safety of their neighborhoods.

Citizens, business owners, neighborhood association leaders, clergy, educators and others are encouraged to attend. For more information call Hendrix's office at 601-960-1089 or email [email protected].

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2016/feb/09/24509/

Despite overcast skies, Zoo Blues appears to be getting a reprieve and the folks at the Jackson Zoo say the show will go on.

From a press release from the Mississippi Democratic Party:

Jackson, MS – Following the court's order to desegregate schools in Cleveland, Mississippi, Mississippi Democratic Party spokesperson, Ouida Meruvia, issued the following statement:

"It is fitting that on the eve of the 62nd anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the court has ordered Mississippi to make a significant stride forward in achieving the ideal set forth in Brown - equality in our public school system.

"However, with the court's ruling, we're reminded that equality in our state's public education system has not been pursued 'with all deliberate speed,' but instead has been a long, hard struggle that many Mississippians have fought for, and continue to fight for, to this day.

"Democrats in Mississippi will continue our work to ensure that all students, regardless of race or zip code, will have equal access to a quality, fully-funded public education system."

Sierra Mannie is an education reporting fellow for the Jackson Free Press and The Hechinger Report. Email her at [email protected].

Speaker Philip Gunn has appointed Rep. John Read, R-Gautier, as the new Chairman of Appropriations in the House of Representatives.

“John has more experience and knowledge of the appropriations process than anyone in the House of Representatives,” Speaker Philip Gunn said in a press release. “He has 25 years of legislative experience. He has been a member of the Appropriations Committee for more than 20 years and has served as the Vice-Chairman of Appropriations for eight of those years."

“He has also served in various other leadership roles during his legislative career, including Chairman of the Fees and Salaries Committee, Chairman of the Conservation and Water Resources Committee, and Vice-Chairman of the Rules Committee, one of the most powerful committees in the House,” Gunn said in a release. “John has served well in all of these roles and has proven himself to be a competent leader. His resume and his record of service make it clear that he is very qualified to be the Chairman, and I believe he will do an excellent job.”

Rep. Read currently serves on the following committees in the following roles:

• Conservation and Water Resources - Chair
• Rules - Vice-Chair
• Appropriations
• Gaming
• Ports, Harbors and Airports
• Public Property

Verbatim from Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's office:

Jackson, Miss.—The final numbers are in: the Jackson online tax-forfeited property auction garnered 1,503 bids on 343 parcels. The Southport Mall Shopping Center, an abandoned commercial property at Highway 80 and Ellis Avenue, received the highest bid at $185,000.

The winning bids in the Jackson auction totaled more than $600,000, which should be distributed to the schools, the city, and the county.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann launched online auctions in July 2016 to streamline the purchase of properties forfeited to the State for non-payment of ad valorem taxes. More than 1,300 of the bids in the Jackson auction were online.

An online tax-forfeited property auction in Waveland garnered 458 bids on 99 parcels. More than 380 of these bids were online. The highest bid received was $12,500. In all, the winning bids for the Waveland auction totaled more than $120,000.

Successful bidders in both auctions will be notified by e-mail by the Secretary of State’s Office, and payment of the bid amount must be paid within 15 days of notification.

To view other tax-forfeited properties available for purchase, visit the Secretary of State’s tax-forfeited land search here.

Several major changes are in store for the upcoming 90th Academy Awards following a meeting of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors on Tuesday, March 28.

It looks like it will be a long time before the Laremy Tunsil NFL Draft night saga will be over for the University of Mississippi. ESPN writers Mark Schlabach and Nicole Noren reported that the texts that showed up on Tunsil’s Instagram account did in fact happen last year.

The university is now trying to determine if someone altered the texts in any way before publishing them.

The texts in question are said to have occurred between February and April of last year and appear to show Tunsil asking UM Assistant Athletic Director John Miller for $305 for a utility bill and money for his mother’s rent.

Miller allegedly replied to Tunsil, “See Barney next week,” in what could be a reference to Barry Farrar, the Rebels’ assistant athletic director for high-school and junior-college relations.

The texts were just part of a horrible draft night for Tunsil. Minutes before the draft began, someone released a video on his Twitter account showing him smoking a bong attached to a gas mask.

That video caused Tunsil, thought to be a top-five pick, to tumble down the draft until the Miami Dolphins took him with the 13th overall selection. After being drafted, Tunsil admitted in a news conference that he did in fact ask for money, and the texts were real.

The NFL cut the draft-night news conference short after Tunsil admitted to the allegations. He has since declined to answer questions about the texts in two press conferences as a Dolphin.

In related news, attorneys for UM head coach Hugh Freeze have asked a judge not to have Freeze deposed for a civil suit that Tunsil’s stepfather filed against the young athlete. Lindsey Miller, the stepfather, is suing Tunsil for assault, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuit came just two days before the first round of the draft. Court records indicate that Tunsil’s mother Desiree Polingo filed for divorce six days after Miller filed his lawsuit.

On the night in question, Tunsil claims he was protecting his mother after his stepfather yelled obscenities and pushed her onto a table and chair. Miller says the attack was unprovoked as he was trying to protect Tunsil from meeting with agents. Neither men are currently facing criminal charges.

Miller’s attorneys want to depose Freeze about a statement that he released after the incident and for the names of two men who were with Tunsil that night—a man named Zo from South Carolina and another unnamed agent.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines was able to get documents from the Regulation and Enforcement Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Mississippi that show an agent was penalized for direct contact with a student-athlete and family member from a Mississippi school in late June of 2015.

The agent met with the student-athlete and his family without giving written notice to the University of Mississippi as state law requires. Outside …

The next two weeks might be the last time Dak Prescott is on the field as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys for a while. Multiple reports state that injured quarterback Tony Romo will take back the starting job in week eight if everything goes right with his rehab.

That means Prescott plays this week against the Cincinnati Bengals (week five) and next week against the Green Bay Packers (week six). Dallas has a bye week in week seven, and Romo would start in week eight against the Philadelphia Eagles.

If Prescott wins his next two starts to get the 3-1 Cowboys to 5-1 at the bye, should Dallas switch to Romo? Would it be better for the team to ride Prescott until he struggles and then have an ace in the hole with a healthy Romo ready to relieve him?

Prescott has won three straight games, something no Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback has ever done. That means he has done something not even Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach could accomplish.

The only Cowboys rookie quarterback to win three games in season was Quincy Carter. Prescott should have four wins, but Dallas was too conservative in its 20-19 season-opening loss to the New York Giants.

Since that loss, Prescott notched his first NFL comeback against the Washington Redskins and his first comeback from two scores down against the San Francisco 49ers. Prescott led a beatdown of the Chicago Bears between those two comebacks.

Dallas is currently in second place behind Philadelphia in the NFC East standings. The Cowboys have a one-game lead over both the Giants and Redskins.

Even if Prescott splits his next two starts, 4-2 is something very few people thought would be possible when Romo went down in the preseason. You could make the argument that Prescott has earned the right to be a starter much like Tom Brady did years ago.

Even if Romo does return, will he come out healthy in a six-game stretch against Philadelphia, the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens, Washington, the Minnesota Vikings and the Giants.

It would be surprising to see Romo make it out of the back-to-back games between the Steelers and the Ravens healthy. Over the last couple of years, Romo has been more brittle than plastic left in the Mississippi summer sun.

Sure, Romo has experience and abilities to make plays in the passing game, but Prescott has extended his NFL record 131 passes thrown by a rookie without an interception. He hasn’t fumbled either and has only been sacked six times.

Romo may have more experience, but that is what playing Prescott now will give him. He is going to struggle at some point. Every quarterback has a bad game during each NFL season.

Why not save Romo in case Prescott becomes injured or struggles? Last season, the Denver Broncos turned to Brock Osweiler when Peyton Manning was injured and …

Voting 2-1 this morning, the Mississippi Public Service Commission agreed to let Mississippi Power Co. continue building a lignite coal plant in Kemper County -- at least for the time being

There's a new sheriff in town. Well, technically there's a new Honorary Deputy Sheriff Chaplain in town -- and his name is the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. The Hinds County Sheriff's Department posted 30 photos on its Facebook page of the longtime civil rights leader's swearing in as an honorary county cop yesterday.

The wait is over, kids. Mississippi House members finally have a new legislative district map to vote on. The maps, which add two districts in rapidly growing DeSoto County, were unveiled at the Capitol today. Under the plan, several Democrats could lose their seats either by hasquaring off with fellow Democrats or by having to compete in mostly GOP districts.

Pew Research survey gives Obama an 8-point lead over Romney.

ESPN sent out a press release that Mississippi State will face Oklahoma State in the newly created Texas Football Classic which will be held in Houston at Reliant Stadium. Here is a link to the [full press release][1].

The Committee to Elect Chokwe Lumumba, Jackson mayoral candidate Chokwe Lumumba's political action committee, shared its first campaign finance report with the Jackson Free Press this morning.

The report, which you can see here, was filed almost two full months late. But it is just the fourth report filed by the 14 candidates vying to be Jackson's next mayor. The others were filed by front-runners Jonathan Lee and Regina Quinn, as well as incumbent Harvey Johnson Jr.

Mr. Lumumba's campaign raised $22,141 in 2012, with $18,750 coming from major donors (gifts of over $250) and $3,391 coming from smaller donors. His biggest supporter is Jackson attorney Barry Wayne Howard of Jackson, who gave $10,000 to the PAC on May 14, 2012.

Other donors reaching or topping the $1,000 mark include Moore's Used Auto Sales, LLC on Gallatin Street ($1,000), Jackson attorney Winston J. Thompson ($1,200), Deerfield Pest Control, Inc. on West Mayes Street ($1,000), Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet III ($1,000), and Dr. Vonda Reeves-Darby ($1,000).

The campaign spent $19,026 and reported a total amount of cash-on-hand of $7,491 as of January 1, 2013.

Pass the Kleenex. Jackson ranks at the top of the list for spring allergies.

Yes, he did. The Washington Post is reporting that our esteemed governor, Phil Bryant, blamed working mothers for the problems in the education system:

Bryant was participating in a Washington Post Live event focused on the importance of ensuring that children read well by the end of third grade. In response to a question about how America became “so mediocre” in regard to educational outcomes, he said:

"I think both parents started working. The mom got in the work place."

Bryant immediately recognized how controversial his remark would be and said he knew he would start to get e-mails. He then expanded on his answer, saying that “both parents are so pressured” in families today. He also noted that America seemed to be losing ground internationally in regards to educational outcomes because other nations began to invest more in their own school systems and make progress.

And folks are worried about Chokwe Lumumba's views.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba is attempting to end his representation of another client, Reggae star Buju Banton, in Tampa, Fla.

The withdrawal comes on the heels of the news from Oktibbeha County, where Lumumba last week relinquished his role in the murder case against Archie Quinn, which was scheduled to begin Monday. Lumumba first filed a motion with the court saying his duties as mayor were too burdensome to continue his representation of Mr. Quinn, but that request was denied by the court. He then raised health concerns, according to an account in the Starkville Daily News.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Banton, born Mark Myrie, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for helping set up a deal to buy and sell 11 pounds of cocaine.

Lumumba had already won Banton the dismissal of a gun charge and left one juror facing a misconduct charge for researching the case during trial.

Lumumba and Imhotep Alkebu-lan, his recent appointment as special assistant to the city attorney, both filed a motion Wednesday in U.S. District Court to withdraw, stating that their new duties "will prevent them from representing him in future proceedings."

Those requests were referred to a magistrate judge.

Tons of new music is due out tomorrow...

The Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi is making a desperate plea for donations.

Francis P. Smith Jr., pastor of Total Praise and Worship on Cedar Lane in south Jackson, has qualified for the race to be the next mayor of Jackson, information from the city clerk's office shows.

Smith competed as an Independent in the June 2013 general election for mayor, which late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba won in a landslide.

In an interview leading up to that contest, Smith told the Jackson Free Press: "I'm running for mayor, simply, to bring Jackson out of the slum, out of the abyss, out of the pits of hell."

Smith served as the Housing and Rehabilitation Manager for the city from 2002 through 2011 under Harvey Johnson Jr.'s administration and, later, the Frank Melton administration.

The JFP reported last year:

In that position, Smith supervised the Housing and Rehabilitation staff as they enforced city codes, executed community improvement projects, assured recipients spent Community Development Block Grants funds properly, and assisted elderly and disabled citizens with housing needs, such as roofing, electrical, plumbing and foundational repairs.

Smith is just the third candidate to officially qualify for the April 8 nonpartisan contest to replace Lumumba, who died late last month.