Jackson Free Press

Several new releases are due for 7/23...

Yes concert review...

A few shows that are happening outside of our area might be worth a road trip:

Oxford and Ole Miss will host the Blues & BBQ Festival on 7/18-20. Lots of artists and food will be on hand.

If the jam-band scene is your thing, you're probably heading over to Birmingham/Pelham at the Oak Mountain Ampitheatre for Widespread Panic as they bring two shows on 7/19-20.

Birmingham's WorkPlay will also host The Psychedelic Furs on 7/22.

TB

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/jul/17/12686/

Jackson area residents can now support one of the city's important nonprofits without a second thought .

New music out on 7/16...

The Hinds County Republican Party said it will also hold a primary election for two seats on the Board of Supervisors.

The county GOP primary will take place Sept. 24 with a runoff on Oct. 8 if necessary. Candidates must qualify by submitting a qualifying form and $15 fee by Friday, July 26 in either the Jackson or Raymond courthouses. The general election is Nov. 5 to replace Doug Anderson, who died earlier this year, and Phil Fisher, who stepped dow to be mayor of Clinton. Anderson represented District 2 and Fisher represented District 4.

Republicans decided to hold a primary only after county Democrats announced plans for primary yesterday, said Hinds County Republican Party Chairman Pete Perry in a statement. Perry said special elections are typically nonpartisan.

On July 1, supervisors temporarily filled the open seats. Al Hunter, owner of contracting firm First Construction Inc., who lives in Edwards, took over for Anderson. Dr. Robert Walker, Vicksburg's first black mayor and now a Byram resident, replaced Fisher.

Walker's appointment also gives all five board seats to African Americans, which has drawn criticism from whites and Republicans because Hinds County's white minority is currently with representation on the board.

The District 4 seat is considered safe for Republicans.

The Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee has set the date for elections to fill two spots on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors.

A special election will be held this fall to replace Doug Anderson, who died earlier this year, and Phil Fisher, who stepped dow to be mayor of Clinton. Anderson represented District 2 and Fisher represented District 4.

A Democratic primary will take place Tuesday, Sept. 24; a runoff, if necessary, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

On July 1, supervisors temporarily filled the open seats. Al Hunter, owner of contracting firm First Construction Inc., who lives in Edwards, took over for Anderson. Dr. Robert Walker, Vicksburg's first black mayor and now a Byram resident, replaced Fisher.

The candidate qualifying deadline for the Democratic primary is 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 25. Candidates must submit a qualifying form and a $15 fee with the Hinds County Circuit Clerk's office before the deadline. Candidates do not need to file a petition to run for the seats.

"In the modern two-party system, voters expect to know which party the candidates support. Far too often candidates hide behind the "independent" label, or run under false colors, in order to play both sides. In Hinds County, Democrats demand our right under the law to elect our nominees in a primary and to support our nominees in the general election. The party will both support our nominees and hold them accountable once elected. That's the way an effective two-party system works," said Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee Chairperson Jacqueline Amos-Norris in a press release.

The Mississippi Republican Party has not announced a primary schedule for the Hinds County open slots.

The Jackson City Council really got the ball rolling on its new term Monday afternoon by kicking the can on two important issues - the confirmation of Lumumba's selection of fire and police chief - not one week, but two weeks down the road.

Council President Charles Tillman, Ward 4, set a public hearing for Thursday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. for citizens to come out and let their voices be heard on the appointment of Lindsey Horton and Willie Owens as police and fire chief, respectively. Mayor Chokwe Lumumba held a press conference to introduce the duo minutes before the council meeting began.

When asked by Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon, Ward 7, why the delay of a vote was necessary, Tillman said he was going to "be accommodating" to the council members who were not present who said they wanted to be a part of the process.

The two absent members were Quentin Whitwell, Ward 1, who was attending a Mississippi Bar Association Convention and LaRita Cooper-Stokes, Ward 3, who does not attend special meetings of the council on principle.

Tillman ended the meeting by saying he should have his committee appointments done by next week, at the latest, and said he's excited about how efficient this council is going to be.

The good news: Tillman approved Cooper-Stokes' seating arrangement proposal, and the council now sits in the correct order - from 1 to 7 – except seats 4 and 5 are flipped so the president can sit in the middle. (So the order is now 1-2-3-5-4-6-7.) Perhaps next, the council can get its priorities in order.

Some select new releases for 7/9...

According to a press release from the desks of U.S. Attorney Greg Davis and Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis, a police impersonator is contacting metro area residents claiming to be a Hinds County Sheriff's Deputy.

The release says the impersonator is demanding social security and drivers license numbers, and telling people if they do not turn over the information, they will face immediate arrest. Davis and Lewis warn that these types of calls are not being made by law enforcement agencies, and advising that you should never give out any identification information over the telephone to someone you do not know and trust, even if they claim to be a police officer.

The case is being investigated by the Hinds County Sheriff's office and the U.S. Secret Service. If you have been contacted by someone you believe to be an identity thief, or if you have any information about the scam, you are encouraged to call the sheriff's office at (601) 974-2900 or the U.S. Secret Service at (601) 965-4436.

One of the events at yesterday's City Council meeting that fell through the cracks was Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's announcement that he has picked former JSU associate professor Safiya Omari to serve as his Chief of Staff.

The Shreveport, La. native has served as associate professor of social work and health sciences and Director of the Southern Institute for Mental Health Advocacy Research and Training at Jackson State since 1999. She holds a PhD from Northeastern University, where she studied social psychology.

Omari was co-chair of Lumumba's transition team alongside former Bennie Thompson aide Synarus Green. She sat front and center at Tuesday's City Council meeting, which was about as interesting as they come.

You can read a review of that meeting here.

Lumumba's media contact Latrice Westbrooks said the mayor is in the process of filling other positions, and that announcements would be forthcoming. Stay tuned!

Since the somewhat surprising victory of Councilman Chokwe Lumumba in the Jackson mayoral runoff, and his subsequent victory in the general election, I’ve been thinking about what his ascension to the mayor’s office will mean for Jackson and eventually, for the state itself. As the new mayor’s inaugural events begin to take place in the next week, perhaps it is time, as we approach the 50-year anniversary of so many of the momentous events of the civil rights era, to both contemplate and attempt to calibrate just how far we’ve come.

Mayor-elect Chokwe Lumumba will be sworn in today at noon, but the proverbial cat may be out of the bag on his first announcement after being inaugurated.

On Saturday, Jackson State University put out a press release congratulating Deputy-Chief Lindsey Horton on being named the city's next police chief.

City officials have not confirmed that Horton has been chosen, but Lumumba hinted to television station WAPT to expect an announcement soon after he was sworn in today at the Jackson Convention Center.

Horton would replace Rebecca Coleman, whose four-year tenure as chief ended Saturday.

You can read more about Horton in a 2011 JFP profile here.

Check out New Orleans' The Breton Sound tomorrow night at Sam's Lounge.

If Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has his way, Magnolia State voters will be required to show photo identification to vote, and it could start as early as 2014.

Hosemann, seizing on the U.S. Supreme Court decision last week to strike down the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is looking to push forward on a voter ID law that was rejected by the federal government in 2011. Now that the Voting Rights Act is null and void, Mississippi is free to set whatever laws it sees fit. Free photo identification is available through the circuit clerk's office.

The Secretary of State is currently soliciting comments from members of the public who have questions or concerns. You can reach the office at (601) 359-1350 or go online and visit the Secretary of State web site at www.sos.ms.gov.

Mississippi House Democrats didn't quite get the Medicaid expansion they wanted, but are declaring victory in sort of getting a debate on the subject.

In the end, after a couple of attempts to expand ways for more citizens to receive health insurance coverage, a $841 million Medicaid appropriation bill passed overwhelmingly, 115-1.

After the Legislature adjourned this spring without renewing the existing Medicaid program, Gov. Phil Bryant called a special session this week for lawmakers to reauthorize and fund Medicaid in its current form.

Democrats repeatedly blocked efforts to reauthorize Medicaid to force a floor debate on the issue of growing the Medicaid rolls to include 330,000 more people.

Despite the narrow scope of Bryant's special session call that was limited to re-authorization and funding of the existing Medicaid program, House Democrats offered amendments to expand Medicaid. When the House debated House Bill 1, which establishes the Division of Medicaid, Democrats tried to amend the bill to create a state-based health-care exchange. The federal government rejected Mississippi's plan for an exchange, meaning that the feds will will create one on the state's behalf.

Democrats pointed out the irony of the Republican leadership's anti-Obamacare posture as reason for standing in the way of Medicaid expansion while an intra-party spat between Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney and Bryant forced the feds to take over the state's exchange.

Democrats implored their colleagues to support the health-exchange amendment. Rep. Adrienne Wooten, D-Jackson, got choked speaking about her single working mother who "no matter what would not let her health insurance go."

HB 1 passed on a party-line vote but is being held on a motion to reconsider. Later, lawmakers took up the second part of the governor's special session call, a bill to fund the Medicaid program. Democrats again attempted to amend the bill to expand Medicaid.

"These are people who through no fault of their own don't have health insurance," said Rep. Bob Evans, D-Monticello. "These aren't deadbeats."

Despite shutting down expansion discussion earlier in the session because it was not germane to the issue at hand, Speaker Philip Gunn allowed Democrats to speak in favor of expansion.

Despite being unsuccessful, House Democrats chalked the session up as a victory because their side was able to argue for Medicaid expansion.

The Senate also convened but took no substantive action, pending the outcome of votes in the House.

If you're in Jackson tonight and you hear gunfire, don't worry.

It's not the sound of voter-ID proponents celebrating the dismantling of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

It's not the beginnings of the Republic of New Afrika's armed insurrection.

It's just members of the Jackson Police Department shooting guns. JPD will be testing new equipment that detects gunfire, WLBT reports.

The technology, called The Shot Spotter, senses whenever a gun is fired and notifies emergency personnel, who will respond to the shot.

Officers will test the system tonight at 7 p.m. with live rounds, but will not fire bullets into the air. Even if the system works, JPD encourages residents to continue reporting gunshots in their neighborhoods.

After dropping the opening game of the best-of-three College World Series Championship at Omaha, Neb. Monday night, Mississippi State will need to win two games in a row to capture the school's first national championship.

The Bulldogs (51-19) will face the UCLA Bruins (48-17) in Game 2 tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

UCLA starting pitcher Adam Plutko lifted the Bruins, scattering four hits over six innings of work before he left the game with the 3-1 lead. Including Monday night's win, the Bruins have only allowed seven runs in their past seven games combined.

Mississippi State will have to break that streak by getting some key hits, a feat they struggled with Monday night. The Bulldogs were sluggish out of the gate, and Plutko retired the first 10 hitters before Alex Detz singled with one out in the fourth inning.

Break out the seersucker, Gov. Phil Bryant has called a special session of the Mississippi Legislature for Thursday morning at 10 a.m.

The Medicaid program is set to expire on July 1 if lawmakers do not renew it. The House will take up the Medicaid reauthorization bill first; then it goes to the Senate.

Here's the full release from Bryant's office:

JACKSON—Gov. Phil Bryant today issued a proclamation calling lawmakers into a Special Legislative Session at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 27, 2013, to authorize and fund the Mississippi Division of Medicaid. Lawmakers adjourned the 2013 Regular Legislative Session without passing certain laws that regulate the state agency responsible for running Medicaid and without providing that agency funding to pay for medical services received by Mississippi’s Medicaid beneficiaries.

“It is unfortunate that Mississippi taxpayers must bear the expense of a Special Session because some lawmakers chose to make a political point during the Regular Session instead of acting responsibly to conduct state business at the appropriate time,” Gov. Bryant said. “I urge the Legislature to act immediately upon convening to authorize and fund the Division of Medicaid. Taxpayers should not have to pay for days of political showmanship, and Medicaid beneficiaries deserve to be freed from the uncertainty that has been thrust upon them.”

Check out these new music releases for 6/25...