Jackson Free Press

Verbatim statement just in from the University of Mississippi:

OXFORD, Miss. – Three 19-year-old white male freshmen from Georgia were declining through their attorneys late Thursday to be questioned by university police regarding the vandalism Sunday morning of the University of Mississippi’s James Meredith statue, according to the university chief of police, Calvin Sellers.

Sellers said the University Police Department (UPD) had gathered enough evidence by late Wednesday to bring charges through the student judicial process against two of the students, and both state and federal authorities were working in close coordination to determine whether criminal charges were applicable.

Working through an advisor to the students, university police had arranged a meeting for Thursday morning, Sellers said, but the students did not appear as promised. As university police were attempting to locate the two students late Thursday, they became aware of an Oxford attorney who was representing one of the students, which then led to information that three students had retained legal counsel.

Two of the students were those being sought by university police, but all three names had been prominent in the investigation, according to Sellers. He said the attorneys declined to make their clients available for questioning without an arrest warrant.

Sellers and University of Mississippi Chief of Staff and General Counsel Lee Tyner said they believe sufficient evidence exists to bring criminal charges against the suspects and pledged to provide whatever support is needed for state and federal authorities to issue warrants and pursue legal measures to the full extent of the law. The student judicial process would call on the students to respond but can proceed without their cooperation, Tyner said. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) does not permit the university to release the names of the students unless criminal charges are filed.

Sellers said the $25,000 reward offered by the university’s alumni association has been instrumental in bringing quick results in the investigation, generating numerous leads. Those with additional knowledge that may be helpful to the investigation and prosecution are encouraged to contact UPD at 662-915-7234.

Contact: PR Director Danny Blanton, 662-915-1678, [email protected]

For more information about the University of Mississippi, visit http://news.olemiss.edu or sign up for our RSS feed at http://rebs.ms/umnewsrss. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter at http://rebs.ms/UMsocial.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is touting a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that he says affirms the rights of state attorneys general to file lawsuits in state court.

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

Jackson, MS – In a case brought by Attorney General Jim Hood, the U.S. Supreme Court today unanimously upheld the right of attorneys general across the country to enforce their state’s laws in state court. The Supreme Court ruled in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp. that a state attorney general asserting state law claims for damages incurred by its citizens can have that case resolved by its state court, and is not required to be removed to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA).

All nine Justices agreed to reverse the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that the State’s antitrust and consumer protection enforcement suit could not proceed in Mississippi state court. The Fifth Circuit had encroached on state courts’ rights to hear important public matters by significantly broadening the interpretation of what can constitute a federal “mass action.” Under CAFA, that requires the presence of 100 or more individual “plaintiffs.” The Fifth Circuit had ruled that, despite the State Attorney General being the only plaintiff in the case, the court would treat all Mississippi residents as “plaintiffs” so that CAFA’s 100 person requirement could be considered satisfied, depriving the state courts of the right to interpret their own laws.

Having recognized the important state sovereignty issues at stake, all U.S. Courts of Appeals that had addressed the issue – except the Fifth Circuit – had flatly rejected this analysis. The Supreme Court has now corrected the Fifth Circuit’s error, and Mississippi’s case will properly be returned to Mississippi Chancery Court.

Attorney General Jim Hood stated, " The United States Supreme Court was crystal clear that federal courts have no jurisdiction under the so-called Class Action Fairness Act over actions brought by state Attorneys General for consumer and anti-trust violations. For far too long, large corporations have abused the federal judiciary by trying to drag every action filed by an Attorney General in state court into federal courts. The working people of Mississippi and other states won one this time."

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that an action by an attorney general on behalf of the state’s citizens does not fit within CAFA’s language. The Court held that, because the State of Mississippi, through its attorney general, is the only plaintiff, this suit does not constitute a mass action.

The State sued makers of liquid crystal displays (LCD) in Mississippi state court in January 2011, alleging that these manufacturers had formed an international cartel to restrict competition and boost prices in the LCD market. Several of the defendants in the State’s case pled guilty to charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and paid criminal fines to the U.S. Government. The Mississippi Attorney General sued to recover for the economic harm to the State and …

From the you can't make this ish up file, the Mississippi American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint this afternoon alleging the Mississippi Highway Patrol engaged in racial profiling and violated the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Raymond Montgomery and Cathryn Stout, who are African American.

The stop happened Aug. 8 just north of Jackson on I-55 South, the ACLU said. A doctoral student at Saint Louis University, Stout "was traveling to Jackson to conduct interviews for a paper on Mississippians’ efforts to combat negative stereotypes of their state," the ACLU said.

According to the ACLU's press release, troopers pulled the couple over for Stout's Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. — a historically African American sorority — license plate holder. The release goes on to say:

"When (the couple) exercised their constitutional right to refuse to consent to a search, the trooper called his supervisor, Staff Sergeant Brad Vincent. The plaintiffs watched helplessly as troopers riffled through their suitcase and invaded their privacy. The troopers even dismantled the panels of their interior doors and looked under the hood of their car. In an effort to document the troopers’ actions, Stout tried to record the events on her phone camera. She was told to stop, and fearing arrest, she did. Their hour-long humiliation finally ended when the troopers could not find any contraband. They were sent on their way without any ticket, or an apology."

Stout noted the irony that the whole purpose of her trip was to show how far Mississippi has come in combating the image that the state is racially hostile.

"Unfortunately, my experience with the Highway Patrol revealed a much different picture,” Stout said.

Interestingly, at an Aug. 2012 legislative hearing on immigration reform, Vincent testified that Mexico-based cartels frequently transport narcotics through Mississippi and that the telltale signs of foreign drug mules, include old vehicles with new registrations filled with personal belongings. So it's possible that MHP thought Stout and Raymond (pictured below) were drug runners from south of the border.

The lawsuit, in which Department of Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz is named as the main defendant, was filed in federal court in Jackson.

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Some will remember the story the JFP broke back in May about a lawsuit a student brought against Northwest Rankin High School after she was forced to attend a religious event at the school. Well, the student won in federal court, and Northwest Rankin has a brand new policy on keeping religion out of the school.

In his judgement against the school, Judge Carlton Reeves said the school violated the establishment clause of the first amendment when it made attendance mandatory at the April 10, 2013 program.

The school was also told to pay the legal fees of the student, totaling $15,000.

The American Humanist Association released this statement earlier today:

A judgment has been entered by a federal court in a case brought by the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center on behalf of a student at a Rankin County, Mississippi high school challenging the proselytizing religious assemblies it staged for students earlier this year. The lawsuit was filed April 24, 2013 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi against administrators of Northwest Rankin High School in Flowood, MS and the county school district.

The judgment includes an admission of liability by the defendants that they violated the Establishment Clause, the provision of the Constitution that requires separation of church and state. It also requires the school district to comply with a new policy that prohibits future such violations and orders the defendants to pay the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees.

“A lot has been accomplished and I’m pleased with the outcome of the suit,” said Magdalene “Gracie” Bedi, the student plaintiff in the case. “I'm grateful for the school's maturity throughout this ordeal and I look forward to graduating with them on a positive note. No one should have to question their rights in a public school and I think Northwest [Rankin High School] realizes this now.”

Before filing suit, a letter was sent asking school officials to stop the practice, where a student representative of the Pinelake Baptist Church spoke of finding “hope” in “Jesus Christ,” but the assemblies continued with school administrators insisting the assemblies were “student-led and organized.” According to students present, however, those who attempted to leave were prevented from doing so. At the end of the presentation, the speakers led the students in a Christian prayer. Videos captured by students can be found here and here.

“We are pleased that the school’s administrators have admitted that they violated the Constitution and agreed to continuing court oversight to prevent future violations,” said William Burgess, legal coordinator of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center. “There was clear evidence that these Christian assemblies were endorsed and organized by the school. To continue to deny a constitutional violation had taken place was untenable.”

Bill Walker, the former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, and nine other people have been indicted on state and federal charges related to an ongoing investigation into the state agency's spending.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following statement:

GULFPORT, Miss.- Federal and state grand juries returned indictments this week following a joint investigation into the activities of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (“DMR”) and a $3 million grant issued to the City of D’Iberville, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen, Mississippi State Auditor Stacey Pickering, Second Circuit District Attorney Joel Smith and Nineteenth Circuit District Attorney Tony Lawrence. The State Auditor’s Office also issued civil demands totaling more than $1 million.

William W. Walker, 68, of Ocean Springs, Scott J. Walker, 34, of Ocean Springs, Sheila Tina Shumate, 52, of Saucier, and Joseph C. Zeigler, Jr., 66, of Gulfport, have been named in a five-count federal indictment, returned on Tuesday, November 5, 2013, charging conspiracy to commit federal program fraud, federal program fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud involving DMR and the Mississippi Marine Resources Foundation.

Scott J. Walker is also named in a separate federal indictment along with Michael Janus, age 47, of Biloxi, charging conspiracy to commit program fraud, program fraud, bribery in connection with a federal program and money laundering. The indictment alleges that Walker and Janus caused a false invoice in the amount of $180,000 to be submitted to the City of D’Iberville for payment of consulting services.

A Harrison County grand jury returned indictments this week against Sheila Tina Shumate, Leslie Young Gollott, Susan Perkins, Jere Grant Larsen, Jr. and Kerwin Cuevas for multiple counts of fraud and embezzlement which allegedly occurred during their employment with the Department of Marine Resources.

In addition, the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office issued demands against ten individuals as part of this investigation totaling $1,022,308.55. The individual demands are listed below:

William Walker- $362,689.14 Joseph Ziegler- $258,268.75 Sheila Shumate- $127,608.57 Leslie Gollott- $117,593.10 Susan Perkins- $ 30,959.34 Grant Larson- $1,342.08 Kerwin Cuevas- $108,420.70 Walter Chataginer- $1,279.85 Kerry Endris- $13,020.66 Samantha Hebert- $1,126.36 “The indictments and demands announced today are one step toward restoring the trust of taxpayers, but they do not close the investigation,” State Auditor Stacey Pickering said. “As alleged in the indictments, these men and women abused their positions, stole from the taxpayers of Mississippi, and they will be held accountable for their actions. I appreciate the hard work and cooperation from the local, state and federal agencies involved including our Special Agents, District Attorneys Joel Smith and Tony Lawrence, Gregory Davis, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, and Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The public is reminded that an indictment is an allegation that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The latest court monitoring report for the Hinds County's Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center shows "the facility continues to have "major developmental needs in many areas.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center and Disability Rights Mississippi filed a class-action lawsuit in 2011 that alleged Henley-Young's staff members subjected the children to physical and verbal abuse.

Under a March 2012 settlement children entering the facility are to receive mental-health evaluations, counseling, better rehabilitation options, input from family and advocates, and more time outside their cells.

Leonard B. Dixon, a juvenile justice expert appointed to oversee implementation of the agreement, visited the jail from August 18 through August 23. Dixon said in his report that he witnessed staff training that did not align with juvenile-justice standards.

“As I sat in on several parts of the training, I found the majority of the training was aligned with adult corrections,” he wrote. “Although this training may be adequate for adult facilities, in the juvenile system training is required so that staff will have the skills to effectively interact and manage residents.”

Dixon also cited staffing issues and medical and mental health-care services as still needing improvement.

“Even though the facility has hired new staff, the results of attrition still leave the County far short of the needed staff to properly run the facility,” Dixon wrote. This creates pressure for staff members to keep the peace at all costs, and they often “react to minor misbehaviors” by “locking down residents that present potential conduct issues.”

In early September, the Henley Young brought on a new director when Brenda Frelix took over for Dale Knight, who took the post in 2010.

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?

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/16/14171/

Mississippi's Attorney General and Insurance Commissioner want to make sure you don't get scammed with the newest rollout of the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces.

For about a year, maybe longer, the state court system has slowly been rolling out news of electronic filing coming to certain counties.

Now, it's finally Hinds County's turn.

Starting on Oct. 1, Hinds Circuit Court and Hinds County Court starts accepting voluntary electronic filing of court documents in civil cases on Oct. 1. Senior Circuit Judge Tomie Green signed the order. E-filing will become mandatory on Nov. 1 in civil cases, a press release states.

“The addition of Hinds Circuit and County Courts to the Mississippi Electronic Courts system marks a milestone in our efforts to implement a unified, statewide e-filing system for the judiciary. The state’s most populous county, the home of our capital city and the seat of state government, is an essential component of a unified records system," said Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said in a statement.

Hinds County Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn said in the statement that "trying to make this as simple as possible."

This is huge for members of the public and the press.

Dunn's office charges $1.00 PER FREAKING PAGE for copies.

The state e-filing system is similar to the PACER system the federal courts use, which charges a dime per page.

Today, Tate Reeves addressed the 40th annual confab of the American Legislative Exchange Council in Chicago.

In praising ALEC, Reeves took a shot at venerated Mississippi columnist Bill Minor.

Reeves said:

"Well, a few months ago he decided to attack ALEC," he said of Minor. "You see – Mr. Minor doesn’t believe legislators from around the country should gather to share ideas on how government can get out of the way so businesses can grow. Even more sinister, legislators also listen to businessmen and women on ways to add jobs and raise the personal income of our constituents.

Know that Steve (Seale) wasted no time in setting Mr. Minor straight on ALEC’s purpose – to act as a “forum for lawmakers to share ideas, grow a stronger Democracy and help make government work more efficiently and effectively.”

For the uninitiated, ALEC is like an Obamacare health-care exchange for conservative legislation. It's where conservative lawmakers shop for conservative legislation to earn political support of conservative voters.

Here's a press release from Reeves' office, which includes the full text of his speech:

MISSISSIPPI WORKS TO STRENGTHEN BUSINESS CLIMATE, LT. GOV. REEVES TELLS LEGISLATORS, BUSINESS OWNERS

CHICAGO – Mississippi is open for business and seeing success in attracting more jobs, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves told a crowd of legislators from around the country at the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Lt. Gov. Reeves recounted legislative successes to grow businesses and reform education at the closing lunch with economist Dr. Arthur Laffer, who was member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board. Because Lt. Gov. Reeves was a featured speaker, ALEC funded his trip, and no taxpayer dollars were spent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad also spoke at the meeting.

“With every bill that crosses my desk … I ask ‘Does this help the private sector grow and create jobs for Mississippians?’” Lt. Gov. Reeves told the audience. “That’s the approach we’ve tried in Mississippi. It’s working.”

In ALEC’s Rich States, Poor States report, Mississippi earned the 10th best economic outlook of all the states. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked the state’s GDP growth rate 17th in the nation after the economy grew 2.4 percent in 2012.

Lt. Gov. Reeves cited the 2012 updates to the workers compensation law, the $150 million tax break on inventory costs for small business and the Attorney General Sunshine Act as ways Mississippi is improving the business climate. He also spoke of education reform efforts in 2013 to provide students with a better opportunity for success.

“We can’t have a strong business climate without a strong workforce,” Lt. Gov. Reeves said. “And we can’t have a strong workforce without better education. It’s a simple formula, and one Mississippi has to master.”

Text of Lt. Gov. Reeves’ speech:

ALEC 2013 – Closing Lunch

I appreciate the privilege of speaking to you today. Appearing on the same …

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.

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.

Verbatim press release from Attorney General Jim Hood:

Jackson, MS—Attorney General Jim Hood today filed a petition requesting the Supreme Court of Mississippi to do away with a restraining order issued by the Hinds County Circuit Court late Friday enjoining the State’s new law regulating the carrying of concealed weapons.

Representing the state in today’s filing, Attorney General Hood contends “the Circuit Court’s order violated the separation of powers mandated between co-equal branches in Article 1 of the Constitution by usurping the authority of the legislature to regulate the carrying of concealed weapons. The order also infringes on the citizens’ right to bear arms recognized by Article 3, Section 12 of the Mississippi Constitution and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

The filing also contends that “plantiffs unquestionably delayed seeking emergency judicial relief for some 116 days after the law was signed by the Governor” with no valid excuse and waited until “literally the last hour of the last business day” leaving the State little time, only 30 minutes, to prepare its oral argument before the Circuit Court concerning the injunction. The Attorney General requests the court to overturn the preliminary injunction on several grounds including that 1) the plantiffs have no likelihood of success in proving House Bill 2 to be unconstitutional, 2) because the plantiffs requested relief infringes on the Constitutional authority of the Legislature and 3) because the requested relief infringes on the right of citizens to bear arms guaranteed by the Mississippi and United States Constitutions.

“It is my duty as the chief legal officer of this state to defend our state laws and our citizen’s constitutional rights,” said Attorney General Hood. “Our office continues to advise law enforcement officers and city officials as to the changes they will see with this new law. We will work through the issues as they arise, but this current issues is simply a matter of proper jurisdiction and basic constitutional rights.”

The Court has required the plantiffs to file their response to the State’s petition by 5pm today. The Attorney General’s Office awaits the plantiffs’ response and the Supreme Court’s decision.

In a near unanimous 7-1 decision announced earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court decline to rule in Fisher v. University of Texas.

The complaint filed in chancery court has been withdrawn and District 3 Judge Denise Owens ruled Thursday to allow the city of Jackson to issue bonds to pay for the $90 million sewer and water improvement project with the Siemens company.

According to Advanced Technology Business Solutions attorney Herbert Irvin, the company and its president Dan Hewitt withdrew its complaint, which accused Siemens of promising savings it couldn't possibly deliver, because it got a closer look at the deal.

"After looking at the contract and the details," Irvin said. "We saw the economic impact of the temporary and permanent jobs, and realized the positive economic impact the deal with have on the city."

The original complaint stated, "When the energy savings proposal was presented to the City Council of the City of Jackson, Mississippi, project representatives stated that the City of Jackson would realize an annual savings of approximately $8 million during the 15-year period of the loan. In reviewing the preliminary official statement for the bond transaction, we find that there will not be any appreciable, discernible savings generated by this project – only increased collections from these users of the water system due to more accurate metering."

Hewitt could not be reached for comment.

Democratic nominee for the mayor's office Chokwe Lumumba has filed a general election campaign finance report, which you can read here.

Councilman Lumumba has raised $71,614 since April 28, and spent $74,696 in that same period, leaving him with $15,333 in the tank headed into the June 4 general election against three independent candidates.

Year-to-date, Lumumba has raised $140,367 and spent $133,988.

Some of his biggest contributors on this report are Samuel L. Agnew of Baton Rouge, La. ($15,000), SJG Consultants Inc. of Greenville ($8,000), Winston Thompson III of Madison ($5,000) and a "G. Williams" of Ridgeland ($5,000).

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

WAPT reported today on what is probably the most coveted mayoral endorsement, saying that Regina Quinn has endorsed Chokwe Lumumba for mayor. In a less significant announcement, Frank Bluntson has endorsed Jonathan Lee.

During the campaign, Quinn was angry at Lee for spreading around that she had voted Republican. This is what she told the JFP via email about it:

That’s ridiculous. Whoever put that information into “databases” is playing the same “old political games” they always play during the waning days of a campaign season. I assure you that if you ask for backup documentation to support that allegation, you will receive none. I have been the most transparent candidate in this race, Ms. Ladd. I told the voters that I filed for bankruptcy and successfully completed the bankruptcy plan to turn my financial life around. Likewise, if I were a Republican, I would proudly say so. Voters should not trust any candidate who would lie to them about who they are. I understand that Mr. Othor Cain has dishonored himself by starting these abject lies. After you satisfy yourself that I am telling the truth just like I did when I was attacked in this fashion the first time, I would suggest that you research the party affiliation of the candidate that Mr. Cain is supporting (Lee) because this allegation is obviously a diversion from his own candidate. Let me be clear, I am and have always been a Democrat and voted consistently that way, albeit I can and do work with people of all persuasions.

Regina Quinn

The JFP blogged here that Quinn's name did surface once in a voting database for a Republican vote, which she says was an error.

We're not saying, however, that Quinn endorsed Lumumba because she was angry at Lee. Her staff wrote this on her Facebook page May 10:

Regina is reviewing each candidate's written plan, has met with both, and continue to monitor supporter's opinions. She expects to announce soon whether she will endorse Lumumba, Lee, or neither first to you her supporters.

Quinn came in fourth in the primary, drawing more vote than most political watchers expected and seems to have a strong voting base among women.

UPDATE: Quinn campaign manager Aaron Banks told us tonight:

Hey Donna, When Regina makes her final decision we will get statement to you. We did not inform 16 of any endorsement and it is sad to say that they posted a story without verifying it with our campaign. But we will inform you first once her mind is made up thanks.

The budget for Jonathan Lee's campaign to become next mayor of Jackson has officially topped $400,000 since the start of 2013.

In a report filed Tuesday, May 14, 2013, with the City Clerk's office, the treasurer for Jonathan Lee's political action committee "Friends of Jonathan Lee" says the Lee campaign raised $66,459 since April 11, putting his calendar year-to-date total at $401,019.12.

The report says Lee has also spent $372, 762.08 total, and $65,815.41 of it since April 11, 2013.

The report, which you can read here, shows that Lee received several large donations in the past month, including a $2,500 donation from Guy H. White of Ridgeland and a $2,000 donation from Emmerson Asset Management, LLC. He also received $1,000 donations from The District Land Development Company, Bennchmark Construction Corp., Fondren Place Apartments LLC, Integrated Management Services and private citizens Susan McNease of Jackson, Steven Speights of Jackson, Samuel Lane of Jackson and Deshun Martin of Jackson.

Lee's opponent in the May 21 runoff, Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba, also filed his report on time (yay!). His report indicates that his campaign has just topped the $100,000-mark, year-to-date, with $31,957 of that coming after April 11, 2013.

Lumumba has received large contributions in the past month, including a $5,000 from Adekuule Adekuubi (trust me, we are digging trying to figure out who these people are), $2,000 from Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. (an engineering company out of Baton Rouge, La.), $1,500 from himself, $1,300 from New England Contractors LLC (a Jackson business) and $1,000 donations from Adam Shakoor of Detroit, Mich., Herbert Irvin of Jackson, Mississippi Boys Hoops Inc. of Jackson, attorney John Walker of Jackson, J&J Wholesale of Clinton and attorney Winston Thompson of Jackson.

Ward 4 City Council hopeful De'Keither Stamps also filed a report, which you can read here.

Stamps report says he received a total of $4,940 between April 28 and May 11, 2013, from himself, coffee roastery engineer Nikdra Ford and Honeysucker and Honeysucker Inc. He spent $1,931 at A2Z Printing, and split the rest of his spending between Wal Mart, Raceway, Spaceage Marketing and Printing and Poll Watchers. He reports $277 cash-on-hand.

See, it's not hard to follow the law.

Today, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia released a statement joining other journalism organizations in protesting the U.S. Department of Justice's over-reaching subpoena of The Associated Press' phone records. The JFP joins other media organizations who have signed onto this letter by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. It reads in part:

The scope of this action calls into question the very integrity of Department of Justice policies toward the press and its ability to balance, on its own, its police powers against the First Amendment rights of the news media and the public’s interest in reporting on all manner of government conduct, including matters touching on national security which lie at the heart of this case.