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April 4 - 10, 2012

jacksonian

VOL.

1 0 N O . 30

contents COURTESY PAM DOLLAR

VIRGINIA SCHREIBER

6 Community Works Mississippi spends too much money for the wrong kinds of assistance for its mentally ill citizens.

AMILE WILSON

Cover illustration

by Eric Bennett

10

THIS ISSUE:

JPS is in danger of losing accreditation. What does that mean for students?

COURTESY ERIC BENET

donna barksdale a true, valid source of income,” she says.

Now in her 60s, Barksdale dedicates much of her energy to charities and organizations in and around the Jackson area, including America’s Promise Alliance, the Mississippi Arts Commission and Operation Shoestring.

“I think Jackson is the future of our state,” Barksdale says. She is also a passionate advocate for education and works with the Youth Employment Project at Lanier, helping students acquire professional jobs during the summer at places like law firms and hospitals.

“Poverty should not be able to determine your successes or your ability to get an education,” Barksdale says.

She works to improve the quality of education through the Barksdale Reading Institute, which she and her husband, Jim Barksdale, interim executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, founded.

“We cannot throw away our school system, we cannot throw away our children in poverty, and we have to do something every day that matters to get Jackson out of a bad educational system and a lot of poverty that we all share in,” she says.

Barksdale boasts an active schedule, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She has three children, three stepchildren and eight grandchildren.

“I have a great support group,” she says.

—Alexis Goodman and Elizabeth Waibel

41 Silky Singer Eric Benet brings rhythm & smooth to the Two Rivers Gala benefit for Tougaloo College.

46 On The Town This Easter Sunday, treat yourself and your family to a scrumptious brunch in an area restaurant.

jacksonfreepress.com

Donna Barksdale has been “everything from a Sweet Potato Queen to a clothing designer.”

These days, she puts her fashion expertise to work making sure that senior girls at Lanier High School have prom dresses.

A Magee native, Barksdale made her way to the Jackson area in the ’60s to attend Mississippi College in Clinton, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and English and a master’s degree in counseling.

In the ’90s, Barksdale ran a business designing clothing. “I did all those clothing markets in New York and Paris and all that stuff, but I was always happy to get home to Mississippi,” she says. Her designs were manufactured in China and Mongolia, although she tried to get a women’s sewing collective started to manufacture her designs in the Delta.

“Every time I went to China, I thought, ‘I need to be doing this in Mississippi, and I want to be doing this in Mississippi,’” she says.

Unfortunately, Barksdale ran into the same economic reality that many companies encounter: Manufacturing a finished garment in China is cheaper than just the fabric here.

“Cheap labor is not what we want or need anymore,” she says. One of her great hopes for growing the economy in the Delta—and Mississippi as a whole—is in building up the state’s creative economy.

“I think finally the economic-development people in our state are finding that that’s

FILE PHOTO

4 ..............Editor’s Note 4 ................... Slowpoke 7 ................. Talk/News 12 ........................ Tech 14 ................... Editorial 14 .... Editorial Cartoon 15 ................. Opinion 16 ...................... Cover 30 .................. Hitched 33 .............. Diversions 34 .................... 8 Days 35 ............. JFP Events 36 ........................ Film 38 ...................... Books 42 ....... Music Listings 43 ................ Astrology 44 ..................... Sports 46 ....................... Food 50 ......... Fly Shopping

Failing Grades

3

Valerie Wells Valerie Wells is a freelance contributing editor of the Jackson Free Press. She writes about media and other topics from her home in Hattiesburg. She wrote the cover story and a media column for this issue.

Eric Bennett Design intern Eric Bennett is a native of Jackson and a digital-arts student at Millsaps College. His dream job is to do character designs for a major video game producer.

He illustrated the cover.

Alexis Goodman Former editorial intern Alexis Goodman is a student at the University of Southern Mississippi, and enjoys spending time with friends and family. She co-wrote the Jacksonian.

Larry Morrisey Larry Morrisey is the director of grants programs for the Mississippi Arts Commission and is a host for “Mississippi Arts Hour,” the agency’s arts interview radio show on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. He contributed to the cover package.

Henry Jones Henry Jones is a native of Richton, Miss., and is a partner in Iron View Capital, a quantitative hedge fund located in Ridgeland.

He is thankful his two kids have won the lottery, but that’s not good enough. He contributed to the cover package.

Richard Coupe Richard Coupe, avid fan of the beautiful game, husband, brother and father of four, is still wondering what he wants to be when he grows up. He wrote an arts story.

Tam Curley Copy Editor Tam Curley loves telling about her move from liberal California to begin a new life with her hubby and daughter in conservative Mississippi. She is an Arkansas native. She wrote a music story and the Hitched feature.

April 4 - 10, 2012

Erica Crunkilton

4

Executive Assistant Erica Crunkilton was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks. She migrated to Mississippi to attend Ole Miss and never left. She currently lives in Flowood with her fiancé and their two neurotic (and adorable) dogs.

editor’snote

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

We the Job Creators

W

hen I was asked to go to the White House in early March to talk about business in Jackson, I didn’t know what to expect. I just said “yes!” and headed to Washington, D.C. Upon arrival at what would be a fivehour meeting, I found myself among 30 business owners and community leaders from the Jackson area around a big table with officials from the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services, the Delta Regional Authority, the White House Business Council, and even a White House chef.

They started out by telling us we were there because President Obama wants his staff to get beyond the “Washington bubble” and connect with business owners around the country to “hear from the job creators.”

Even as I found myself wondering why the White House chef was on the agenda, I nodded my head and braced myself to think deeply and contribute. I may not have helped conceive Jackson Free Press Inc. to become a job creator, but that sure is what we do, in part. And like any other local business owner, we struggle to make ends meet, grow our staff, increase our pay and benefits, and deal with unfair tactics national chains employ.

Maybe I was in the right place.

We started out with the chief economist for Commerce, Mark Doms, showing us numbers about jobs and job creation (and loss) nationally, as well as in Jackson. The numbers showed, among other things, just how many government jobs have been lost or cut in recent years. For those who ideologically hate government except when it’s helping them, this may have been good news.

For people in that room—including the mayor, a state senator, a former governor and a lot of entrepreneurs—it confirmed one of our state’s biggest challenges: Like it or not, government jobs bolster our economy. Those folks lose their jobs, and our business climate is hurt. Our clients, customers and suppliers take a hit, and it is harder to pay our employees.

One of my favorite numbers confirmed that local businesses are driving our economies. We learned that in recent years—and through the economic downturn—firms with nine employees or fewer created 87 percent of new jobs. Think about that.

It’s certainly been true here. My company started with four employees a decade ago, and we have increased our head count five times over, and we’re still growing.

The challenges we face as business owners quickly took center stage, especially as we attendees started speaking up. We spoke of many issues, but the one that dominated was the problem of work-force development. It took various forms, though—from the need for our educational institutions to train workers for knowledge jobs to the problems managers face with employees with poor work ethic, disdain for time management and other basic professional skills that too many students.

I was thrilled, in fact, that comments I sub-

mitted in advance about my business concerns were among the three that the White House team read aloud. I think I blushed (which I don’t do often) when they read my concerns: “Young people leaving the capital city and the state; adequate education and work-force training; assumptions about people of color; diversity in business; city vs. state politics and its effect on Jackson; the inferiority complex that many Mississippians hold that blocks innovation and creativity; inadequate and biased media coverage of city/state.”

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, brought up the problem of work-force development and wasn’t shy about talking about its “social aspect”—which includes drug abuse and work-ethic problems. The discussion quickly got real about the need to address the roots and causes of Mississippi’s historic challenges, and no one in that room denied that poverty is a huge problem for our people, and for our business community.

This honesty and willingness to deal with context defined that meeting for me; it was so different than many surface business conversations. The problems business owners, and residents in general, face are so much deeper and more complex than those who pretend to solve them by trying to drown government in a bathtub or who blame everything on “frivolous” lawsuits. (Those are more concerns of big business more than those of us on the ground creating most of the new jobs.)

Let me put it another way: When a young person grows up in a poor neighborhood with parents who were taught to believe they couldn’t succeed by grandparents who believed the same thing, we have a cyclical problem. When those young people try to get training internships or entry-level jobs that

they can’t afford a car to get to—or find decent public transportation for—they have a problem. When they’re told by parents just trying to pay the light bill that the most important thing is to take an unskilled factory job than get training at a “knowledge” company, these kids have a long-term problem.

When residents flock to do business with companies that take much of our money out of state, then we are immediately behind the economic-development curve. And when our brightest young people can’t wait to leave the state the day after graduation because people in power completely ignore their needs and ideas, then we have a serious “brain drain” problem (see this week’s cover package).

It’s time, as Lumpkins Barbecue co-owner Monique Davis said at the White House meeting, to “think outside the box.”

It may be a cliché, but she’s right on: In Mississippi, and in Jackson, we must get smart about causes and fixes; building a stronger and more educated work force; and keeping them here, or at least drawing them back.

One very effective way to do this is by supporting the work (and job creation) of local businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as creating unexpected partnerships, whether with the White House or someone across town we often disagree with.

Oh, and why was White House chef Sam Kass at the meeting? To make the point that unhealthy, overweight, always-tired citizens and workers are not going to help us innovate our way off the bottom. Hmmm. The gym is great for networking, you know.

Learn about White House assistance for business at business.usa.gov and how you help grow a healthier work force at myplate.gov. See #whbizforum on Twitter for more biz talk.

10th Annual Two Rivers Gala

1 J A C K S O N

MEDICAL MALL THAD COCHRAN CENTER

Saturday April 7, 2012 7:00 p.m.

Jackson Medical Mall

On the Main Stage:

Eric Benet Eddie Cotton

and the Cotton Club Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Money Band feat. Henry Rhodes Chic Bang Theory

On the Jazz and Comedy Stage: Steve Brown (BET Comedian)

D. Scott & Tiger Rogers Jessie Primer III & Band And Gospel in the Auditorium with Doug & Melvin Williams (The Williams Brothers)

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Information/Tickets: 601-977-7871 Ticketmaster/Coliseum: 601-353-0603

Scan QR for more information

Jackson Only Indoor Bouldering Facility!

125 Dyess Road|Ridgeland, MS 39157|601-977-9000

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We brought the great outdoors indoors!

5

An hour every now and then may not be enough to get you a ticket into heaven.

But it might help you find the right track.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ALWAYS FRESH in the

Holy Week Services: April 5 U 7pm U Maundy Thursday Communion April 6 UĂ&#x160;7pm U Good Friday Service of Darkness

But, if you can come only one Sunday a year, come this Sunday:

April 8 U 10:30am U EASTER SUNDAY

WEDNESDAY 4/4

Big Juv (Blues)

THURSDAY 4/5

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Traditional Worship. Progressive Attitude. Radical Hospitality.

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Spriits of the House (Traditional Irish) FRIDAY 4/6

Dain Edwards

(Singer/Songwriter) SATURDAY 4/7

Folkerson Pace (Classic Rock)

MONDAY 4/9

Karaoke w/ Matt TUESDAY 4/10

Open Mic

with A Guy Named George

Try our new

HAPPY HOUR MENU â&#x20AC;˘ Drink Specials â&#x20AC;˘ Limited Time Food Menu

April 4 - 10, 2012

Available Monday - Friday 4pm - 7pm

6

3531 Lakeland Dr. Suite 1060 â&#x20AC;˘ Flowood, MS 39232 601.420.5810 â&#x20AC;˘ www.precise-research.com

3/30/12 11:31 AM

About half of all jobs in Mississippi are in small businesses with fewer than 500 employees. In 2009, Mississippi had 229,518 small businesses; 44,518 of these employed people, accounting for 49.4 percent of private-sector jobs in the state. Small firms made up 96.5 percent of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s employers.

SOURCE: THE SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OFFICE OF ADVOCACY

Rethinking Mental Health

O

by R.L. Nave

COURTESY PAM DOLLAR

ne night last fall, Watson Dollar be- through would not have happened if he were sissippians, however, institutionalization is came angry when his mother would institutionalized. For one, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unlikely he exactly whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening. A growing chorus not let him drink from her water would have had access to cutting-edge tech- of mental-health advocates believes the state bottle. At the time, Pam Dollar was nology like an iPad in a state hospital. should move away from an institution-based fighting a cold and did not approach in favor of home care know how to explain to Watand community-based services. son why he couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drink Among those groups is the U.S. after her. Watson has limited Department of Justice, which language capabilities due to admonished the state in Decemthe autism he developed at ber 2011 in a letter to then-Gov. age 2.

Haley Barbour.

She grabbed her iPad â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thousands of Mississippi and launched the Proloquoresidents with mental illness or 2go app that helps people developmental disabilities are inwith special needs commustitutionalized,â&#x20AC;? wrote Assistant nicate.

Attorney General Thomas Perez â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mom is sick,â&#x20AC;? she to Barbour and other state oftyped on the applicationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ficials. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While confined in these type-pad function â&#x20AC;&#x153;When institutions, they are segregated people are sick, they have Watson Dollarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents chose to send him to mainstream schools from non-disabled persons and â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? lead lives of limited choice or ininstead of putting him in a state institution. Dollar, who has â&#x20AC;&#x153;Germs,â&#x20AC;? Watson, 20, autism, graduated from Mendenhall High School in May 2011. dependence. They are deprived typed, finishing her sentence. of meaningful opportunities to From there, still using the device, mother and The Dollars insisted that their son take choose friends, participate in employment, or son did something they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t done in Wat- general-education classes with the help of a make choices about activities, food or living sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire life: They had a discussion. one-on-one assistant from the time Watson arrangements. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has absolutely opened up his world,â&#x20AC;? was in kindergarten through seventh grade. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We conclude that the State of MissisPam Dollar said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been waiting for 20 Being exposed to that environmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in sippi fails to provide services to qualified inyears to have a conversation with him.â&#x20AC;? Before which he learned the same spelling words as dividuals with disabilities, including mental that moment, the Dollars had to guess at what his peers, for exampleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;likely contributed to illness and developmental disabilities, in the Watson was trying to tell them, even for his what Pam Dollar characterized as a break- most integrated settings appropriate to their basic needs and wants. through.

MENTAL HEALTH, see page 8 Pam Dollar is confident that the breakFor the vast majority of mentally ill Mis-

Âą7E KNOW WE NEED TO DO WELL BY SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS 7E NEED TO GIVE THEM

ALONG WITH EVERY STUDENT THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE BEST THAT THEY POSSIBLY CAN !ND WE ALSO KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS LOSS TO MANY OF OUR STUDENTS IF WE LOST OUR ACCREDITATION AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN ACTIVITIES WITH OTHER SCHOOLS )T WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS BLOW TO THEM ² ²-DFNVRQ 3XEOLF 6FKRROV ERDUG PHPEHU *HRUJH 6FKLPPHO RQ WKH GLVWULFWœV DFFUHGLWDWLRQ KHDULQJ ODWHU WKLV PRQWK ¹) QUESTION WHETHER THIS REMEDY ADDRESSES THE PROBLEM ² ²6HQ +RE %U\DQ ' $PRU\ RQ WKH UDWLRQDOH EHKLQG 0LVVLVVLSSLœV IDLOHG $UL]RQD VW\OH LPPLJUDWLRQ ELOO ¹)F Y´ALL JUST WANT TO SAY Y´ALL ARE ½NALLY COMING AROUND TO MY POSITION WE CAN JUST STOP THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT HERE ² ²:DUG &RXQFLOPDQ 4XHQWLQ :KLWZHOO WR 7RQ\ <DUEHU RI :DUG DERXW WKH GLVFXVVLRQ WR UHPRYH FODLPV IURP WKH GRFNHW XQWLO WKH\ DUH UHYLHZHG

of Separation National Champion Kentucky Wildcatsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; freshman phenom Anthony Davis to Kevin Bacon.

Kentuckyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Anthony Davis was only the second college freshman ever named AP Player of the Year. The first was Texasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Kevin Durant in 2007. Until February 17, 2012, sports agent Aaron Goodwin represented Durant.

Goodwin also represented former NBA star Gary Payton. Payton was in the 1992 movie â&#x20AC;&#x153;White Men Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Jumpâ&#x20AC;? with Woody Harrelson, who played in 2007â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;No Country for Old Men,â&#x20AC;? alongside Josh Brolin. Brolin played a supporting role along side star Kevin Bacon in 2000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hollow Man.â&#x20AC;?

Wednesday, March 28 Police charge Jerrod Emerson in the shooting death of Jackson State University freshman Nolan Ryan Henderson III. Emerson is the victimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cousin. â&#x20AC;Ś Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., has a fellow representative escorted from the U.S. House floor for wearing a hoodie in violation of the chamberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no-hats dress code. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., was wearing the hoodie to call for an arrest in the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

Thursday, March 29 Protesters march to the Mississippi Capitol to call attention to what they say is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;war on women.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;Ś The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Friday, March 30 Jackson State University officially inaugurates President Carolyn Meyers, who has been serving as president of the school since January 2011. â&#x20AC;Ś Three people win in the record-breaking $656-million Mega Millions lottery drawing.

Saturday, March 31 Wyatt Emmerich, president of Emmerich Newspapers, says he plans to start a newspaper called The Chronicle in Laurel, Miss., to replace the Laurel Leader-Call, which closed two days earlier. â&#x20AC;Ś The U.S. Capitol Police promotes its first African American women to the rank of captain.

Sunday, April 1 Mississippi State University hires Rich Ray as its new head basketball coach. â&#x20AC;Ś Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and her party sweep elections in Myanmar.

Monday, April 2 Gov. Phil Bryant appoints former Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin as chairman of the state Parole Board. â&#x20AC;Ś A gunman kills at least seven people and injures three more after opening fire at Oikos University in Oakland, Calif.

Tuesday, April 3 Maryland, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia hold primary elections. â&#x20AC;Ś The womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball teams from Notre Dame and Baylor play for the NCAA championship, after Kentucky beat Kansas in the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s championship Monday night.

Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com. Subscribe for free.

jacksonfreepress.com

news, culture & irreverence

Just call him â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bill Killer.â&#x20AC;? page 8

7

statetalk needs, in violation of the (Americans With Disabilities Act). This has led to the needless and prolonged institutionalization of adults and children with disabilities who could be served in more integrated settings in the community with adequate services and supports.â&#x20AC;?

For what Mississippi pays to institutionalize one person with developmental disabilities, it could pay for four peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s care in the community, the DOJ found. According to information from the state, Mississippi spends an average of $110,000 per year to care for one person in one of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five regional mental-health facilities. Comparatively, treating the same patient in the community would cost $27,000 per year.

Despite the potential cost savings and the federal laws that require states to treat mental-health needs through the most integrated means possible, Mississippi continues building new costly treatment centers.

In fact, the DOJ found, Mississippi is the only state in the U.S. where more than 25 percent of people with developmental disabilities are treated in state hospitals.

Specifically, according to the DOJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s analysis of fiscal year 2011, the state allocated 55 percent of its mental-health budget on institutional care, double the national average of 27 percent. When it comes to developmental disabilities, Mississippi spends 68 percent of its budget on institutional care compared to the 33-percent national rate.

In 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Jackson, arguing that children with behavioral or emotional disorders â&#x20AC;&#x153;face a rigid, facility-

April 4 - 10, 2012

8

â&#x20AC;˘ HB 1152 would require a transitional year between the time an underperforming schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charter is approved and when the school is converted to a charter school. â&#x20AC;˘ HB 1593 is the House education appropriations bill. It includes a slight funding increase for public schools, according to a statement from the Parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Campaign, an organization that advocates for increased education funding, among other things. The bill is in the Senate Appropriations Committee. â&#x20AC;˘ SB 2313 would require all local school superintendents to be appointed, rather than elected, which the state Department of Education has recommended for several years. â&#x20AC;˘ SB 2330 would consolidate school districts in Sunflower County. â&#x20AC;˘ SB 2401 would allow a board to authorize charter schools in Mississippi.

The bill died in the House Education Committee by a 15-16 vote. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Elizabeth Waibel

based mental-health system that both ignores and exacerbates their needs.â&#x20AC;? That suit alleges that mentally ill children must â&#x20AC;&#x153;either deteriorate to the point of crisis required for involuntary hospitalization or submit to unnecessary institutionalizationâ&#x20AC;? because the state offers too few alternatives to institutionalized mental-health treatment.

Mary Troupe, executive director of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, which is also a plaintiff in the suit, said her group is part of a community-care alliance that is developing a five- to 10-year mental-health plan and working to educate state lawmakers who are in the throes of budget negotiations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has been a tremendous effort to get legislators and agency directors to understand that if a person has disability, they can live in the community,â&#x20AC;? Troupe said.

So far, attempts to overhaul the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mental-health system have met resistance, both from state lawmakers and hospitals, fearing that jobs will disappear from the districts they serve if more people are treated outside of institutions. Troupe asserts that the jobs will not vanish but simply shift to the community; other state institutions will remain for open for people who need institutional care.

Mostly importantly, Troupe believes that mentally ill patients and their families deserve to have a choice. Because of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mentalhealth policies, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re â&#x20AC;&#x153;locking awayâ&#x20AC;? smart, talented people like Watson Dollar, Troupe said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not taking care of them,â&#x20AC;? she added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re housing them.â&#x20AC;?

Comment at www.jfp.ms

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No on Charter Schools

VIRGINIA SCHREIBER

Education Bills to Watch

MENTAL HEALTH, from page 7

by Elizabeth Waibel

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After much wrangling, Sen. Gray Tollisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charter-schools bill was voted down in the House Education Committee.

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Legislature: Week 13

by R.L. Nave

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Lawmakers Laser in on Finances

L

R.L. NAV

egislatively speaking, it was a bad week Bryan said he had some questions about the for Mississippi conservatives and the billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constitutionality. stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top Republican leadership, all of whom were ardent supporters of mea- One Victory for Pro-choice Foes sures to toughen state immigration laws, limit One abortion-related bill, to require aborabortions and establish charter schools. tion doctors to have admitting privileges at a As the Mississippi House and Senate local hospital, passed out of the Senate Public faced yet another deadline, two high-profile and Welfare Committee Tuesday, however. measuresâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;HB 488, which would require With no discussion on the bill from Republiofficers to check the immigration status of any person they arrest, and HB 1196, which mandates doctors look for a fetal heartbeat before performing an abortionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;died in the Senate Judiciary B Committee on Tuesday, April 3.

Talking about the bills before the critical votes were cast, Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, who chairs Jud Amory Democrat Hob Bryan declined to call controversial B, said his test is whether the anti-immigration and anti-abortion bills for a vote in the bills would stand up to con- Senate Judiciary B Committee he chairs. stitutional scrutiny.

Although Lt. Gov. Tate Reevesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; assignment of HB 488, the immigra- cans or Democrats, senators sent HB 1390 to tion bill, and HB 1196, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;heartbeat bill,â&#x20AC;? to the floor for a vote.

Bryanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s committee indicated that he wanted to Nsombi Lambright, executive director see the bills die, Bryan also suggested Monday of the Mississippi chapter of the American that he was personally leaning against both Civil Liberties Union, said after the vote that measures. she was disappointed that no members of the Talking about the bills at the Stennis committee questioned the proposal, which Capitol-Press Forum, Bryan said even though could shutter the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only abortion clinic, he shared the concerns of his fellow lawmakers Jackson Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Organization. about undocumented immigrants, he did not Patients at the clinic receive excellent care believe lawmakers should tell local cops how and also have access to the University of Misto do their jobs. sissippi Medical Center, Lambright said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;We would be telling local policemen very unfortunate that our legislators are not lishow to behave when they arrest somebody, tening to the women of Mississippi who voted and I just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a proper role for down personhood,â&#x20AC;? she said. the Legislature,â&#x20AC;? Bryan said Tuesday at the conclusion of the Jud B meeting.

Saving More and Living Better On the â&#x20AC;&#x153;heartbeatâ&#x20AC;? bill, HB 1196, which Bryan was hopping mad as he talked mandates doctors to look for a fetal heartbeat about the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fiscalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s woes this week at the before performing an abortionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a procedure Stennis luncheon. The state senator questhat could require using an invasive transvagi- tioned the wisdom of lawmakers who claim nal ultrasound probe early in pregnancyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; the state is too broke to adequately fund edu-

WHAT YOU MISSED

cation while offering tax breaks that cut into the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue stream. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The same time we have been pinching pennies, the Finance and Ways and Means Committees have opened the back door to the state treasury, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re shoveling money out like thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no tomorrow,â&#x20AC;? Bryan said April 2.

He was particularly fired up about SB 2934, a plan that increases tax credits for businesses that pay inventory tax. The credit would allow businesses that pay an inventory tax to local governments to recoup that money from the state through tax credits.

Bryan estimates the credits would cost Mississippi taxpayers between $119 million and $133 million per year. Walmart can afford to keep paying the inventory tax easier than Mississippians can, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You could triple Walmartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inventory tax, and it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t slow them down,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He also took exception to a plan to exempt churches from paying sales tax on utility bills.

The proposal, HB 582, would affect some 5,000 churches in the state and cost the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s general fund approximately $1 million. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve not heard any suggestion anywhere that any church was crying about paying sales tax on its utility bills,â&#x20AC;? Bryan said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is some high-profile hot-button issue that some legislators think will do them some good politically.â&#x20AC;?

Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Comp Flip After shooting down its own version of a workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; compensation bill a couple of weeks ago, the Mississippi House reversed course and adopted the Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan, SB 2576.

In mid-March, the House voted against HB 555, which sought to remove the â&#x20AC;&#x153;found dead presumptionâ&#x20AC;? that states if a worker is found dead on company property, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presumed they died from the work they were performing. In addition, the law would force hurt workers to file medical proof of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;direct causal connectionâ&#x20AC;? between their injury and their work duties.

The bill would also allow employers to test workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; comp claimants to deter-

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mine whether the worker was under the influence of drugs or liquor at the time of injury. Democrats have characterized the changes to the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; comp system as unfair to employees.

In supporting the measure, Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune, said opponents were attempting to cast â&#x20AC;&#x153;job creatorsâ&#x20AC;? in a negative light. Formby, who is a real estate agent, added that he and many other House members are employers who treat their workers fairly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong with saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If you come to work drunk, you risk your benefits. If you come to work stoned, you risk your benefits,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Formby said.

Earlier in March, HB 555 failed 52 to 62 when five Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the measure. Several other Republicans abstained or were not present for the vote.

Of Beer and Biz A plan to raise beerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alcohol by weight limit in Mississippi from 5 percent to 8 percent that passed the House and the Senate is awaiting the signature of Gov. Phil Bryant.

Several bills that originated in the Senate passed out of the House Ways and Committee and are headed to the floor for votes. Again, on the beer front, a companion to a bill the House passed, SB 2600, would allow beer breweries such as Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. in Kiln to provide product samples to visitors.

Also, SB 2675 lets the state shutter businesses that fail to file or pay their state taxes; SB 2605 sets up a free online income-tax preparation and filing service for people with low incomes; SB 2656 extends a tax cut on so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;cut-and-sewâ&#x20AC;? jobs for upholstered furniture manufacturers.

Comment at www.jfp.ms.

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AMILE WILSON

jacksontalk

by Elizabeth Waibel

JPS’ Accreditation Woes

J

ackson Public Schools is facing a hearing to determine whether it will lose its accreditation over failure to comply with changes to its special-education program recommended by the state, but district officials seem optimistic about the outcome.

The Commission on School Accreditation has scheduled a hearing for April 26. At the hearing, JPS representatives will present their reasons for why the district’s accreditation should not be withdrawn.

Earlier this month, the commission held a teleconference meeting where members decided to hold the hearing about JPS’ accreditation status. Parents for Public Schools of Greater Jackson sent staff to the meeting and posted a statement to its website saying that as of last September, 13 school districts in Mississippi were on probation.

“Basically, (the Mississippi Department of Education) said JPS was cooperating at this point and had begun to make corrections on some of the issues,” said Carolyn Jolivette, interim executive director of Parents for Public Schools. “The hearing is when JPS will present all that it has done to make the corrections.”

JPS board member George Schimmel told the Jackson Free Press that a large part of

the problem is that JPS has not yet made all the changes to its special-education program that MDE has recommended.

“The concern is that we’re not meeting the needs of our special-education students,” he told the Jackson Free Press.

A spokeswoman for JPS Interim Superintendent Jayne Sargent said JPS is “glad to have this opportunity to meet with the accreditation commission,” and feels confident about its responses.

Schimmel said that the district’s problems go back to a previous administration, and Sargent is “doing all that she humanly knows to correct the problem.”

“We’re hopeful that we will be able to satisfy the Mississippi Department of Education,” Schimmel said. “We know we need to do well by special-education students; we need to give them along with every student the opportunity to do the best that they possibly can, and we also know that it would be a tremendous loss to many of our students if we lost our accreditation and they were not able to participate in activities with other schools. It would be a tremendous blow to them.”

Jonathan Larkin was on the JPS school board while some of the events leading up to

the district’s accreditation problems were going on, although he said the board wasn’t really aware of them.

“That was the responsibility of the administration (at the time) of JPS, and they failed to provide the information to the board in a timely manner,” he said.

Losing accreditation would mean JPS students could not participate in any after-school activities, including sports, band or choir, and students counting on scholarships from those activities could lose out, Larkin said.

Some colleges, although not many, might not accept students if they don’t have a diploma from an accredited institution.

Larkin said, though, that taking over JPS would be an enormous responsibility for the Department of Education to take on, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to focus on moving forward rather than punishing the districts for the mistakes of a past administration.

“I know that Dr. Sargent is doing an enormous amount of work to try and correct it and is cooperating fully with the state Department of Education,” he said.

Right now, the district’s accreditation status is listed as “probation,” the lowest status before accreditation is withdrawn. Accredita-

A hearing next month will determine whether JPS’ accreditation will be withdrawn.

tion statuses are different from accountability ratings, which are based on grades and range from Star District to Failing.

Each district is assigned one of four accreditation statuses—Accredited, Advised, Probation or Withdrawn—which depend on how well the district is complying with statemandated processes and standards. JPS’ rating has slipped from Accredited in the 2008-2009 school year to its current probationary status.

Representatives from the state Department of Education were not immediately available for comment.

Comment at www.jfp.ms.

CityBeat: From Docket Breakdown to State Champs

april 4 - 10, 2012

Jackson to riders. Whitwell read his handwritten amendment to the Council Tuesday.

Cooper-Stokes and Lumumba were out of the loop because they missed the previous day’s discussion. Lumumba urged the Council to approve the higher taxi fare rates and to reJACOB FULLER

What is it Good For? Some Jackson City Council members continue to miss work sessions. The Council holds the sessions the day before regular meetings to work out details and prepare for the agenda of the following day’s meeting.

Chokwe Lumumba of Ward 2, LaRita Cooper-Stokes of Ward 3 and Charles Tillman of Ward 5 were absent from Monday’s 10 a.m. work session, a fact that didn’t slip by Council President Frank Bluntson of Ward 4 when he commented on Quentin Whitwell of Ward 1 being late for the meeting.

“You see, we couldn’t start this morning until about 10:15, 10:20 because we were waiting on you,” Bluntson said to Whitwell.

“And Mrs. LaRita, and Mr. Charles and Mr. Chokwe?” Whitwell jabbed back.

“We still don’t see them,” Bluntson said.

The effects of missing the session were evident at times during Tuesday’s regular Council meeting, as Cooper-Stokes and Lumumba were clearly not on the same page as the Council members who attended the work session on the issue of taxi fare increases.

Adding to a proposal to raise taxicab fares by $1 per mile, Whitwell authored an amendment that would require all licensed cab drivers to complete hospitality training from the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Whitwell wrote the amendment after a discussion at Monday’s work session in an attempt to 10 deter drivers from speaking negatively about

The amendment passed by a 5-2 vote, with Cooper-Stokes and Lumumba voting against it. After the inclusion of the amendment and the rejection of two others, which took about 30 minutes of rehashing Monday’s discussion for those who were absent, the proposal to raise taxi rates was approved by a 7-0 vote.

Docket Denials The Council removed the largest bill on its claims docket, a biannual payment of $649,283 to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors for the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center. “I recall that there was a number of Council President Frank Bluntson (right) wasn’t pleased years that we would pay into that Charles Tillman (left) and Chokwe Lumumba (center) this,” Ward 7 Councilwoman missed the work session Monday.

Margaret Barrett-Simon said.

“I thought that the time has visit the proposed amendments in 30 days, af- expired. And we’re still paying it.” ter the Council has had more time to research Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said the agreethe proposals. ment between Hinds County Board of Super“I’d also like to add that I’m just not com- visors and City Council for the biannual payfortable voting for something that’s scribbled ment ran through 2011. “The agreement says on a piece of paper and being read out at the that both parties have to agree to terminate meeting, and it’s my first time hearing of it,” it. That’s what we ran across,” Johnson said.

Cooper-Stokes said.

“I don’t know why it was written like that. It “I’d like to say that neither one of my col- doesn’t sound right; it doesn’t look right, but I leagues here speaking about this were at work believe that’s what it is.” session yesterday,” Whitwell said in response.

The Council then voted 6-1 to remove

by Jacob Fuller

the payment from the docket until further review. Cooper-Stokes, who is married to Hinds County Supervisor Kenneth Stokes, was the only opposing vote.

The Council also voted, at the request of the mayor, to remove all bills pertaining to weeds and grass work from this week’s claims docket. Johnson said there were ongoing investigations into whether some of the work was done properly and satisfactorily. The Council decided it would be best to remove all claims all until the city’s legal department has a chance to review the work and sign off on it.

Champions Honored The Council also passed resolutions Tuesday congratulating the MHSAA 6A State Champion boys basketball team from Jim Hill High School and the 5A State Champion team from Callaway High School.

The championship was Jim Hill’s first since a pre-integration Magnolia Championship in 1963. Led by Fred Thomas, a Mississippi State-signee and the school’s first-ever Metro Player of the Year, the Tigers defeated Tupelo High School 76-74 in overtime of the 6A title game March 3.

Murray State-signee Terron Gilmore and Malik Newman, the nation’s No.1-ranked freshman, led the Callaway Chargers to a 5544 win over Wayne County in the 5A state title game and the school’s third state championship in four years.

citytalk

by R.L. Nave

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Internalized Racismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

D

R.L. NAVE

amien Henderson scrawled the words ualsâ&#x20AC;? at the complex, pulled his weapon and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rest in Paradiseâ&#x20AC;? on a vent outside fired several shots with the .40-caliber gun, his brother Ryanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dorm room at Jack- Assistant Police Chief Lee Vance told reporters son State University last week before March 29. The crowd scattered and Henderleading approximately 200 college students son was shot in the face. dressed in red in a peaceful Vance also confirmed march to the Palisades Apartlong-swirling rumors that ments, where Ryan was shot Henderson had been inand killed March 25. volved in an altercation At the time, the Henwith â&#x20AC;&#x153;some of the football derson family blamed Ryanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s playersâ&#x20AC;? from JSU. The death on JSU football players cookout and pool party that who the 19-year-old freshtook place at the apartment man had, according to witcomplex was reportedly for nesses, taken a beating from graduating members of the in the hours before his death. football team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is nothing new.

Police sought murder This has been going on for charges against Emerson a long time,â&#x20AC;? Ryanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, after consulting with Hinds Nolan Henderson, said on Nolan Ryan Henderson IIIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s County District Attorney the day of the march. Nolan younger brother, Damien, Robert Shuler Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ofremembers him at JSU. Henderson said that when fice, Vance said. Despite he attended JSU in the early Henderson apparently hav1980s, university officials went out of their ing scars on his knuckles and a wound on his way to protect athletes. head, Vance said that because Henderson left But three days later, a messier picture the party under his own power, police couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t emerged: Yes, Ryan Henderson had fought make an arrest for his alleged assault unless an some football players but the bullet that killed eyewitness comes forward. him came from the gun of Jarrod Emerson, Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Andra Orey, a political science profesHendersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cousin, according to a statement sor at JSU, who focuses on issues of race and from City Hall officials. politics, said the incidents surrounding HenJackson police officials said Emerson, dersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death represent what he calls interwho is charged with murder in Hendersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nalized racism (formerly known in sociology death, turned himself in March 28 and circles as self-hatred). helped investigators recover two handguns Black males, he said, often internalize he possessed. racist stereotypes that they are supposed to be The night he died, Henderson had called violent. JSU should take the lead in erasing inEmerson after being assaulted at a party at ternalized racism, which often manifests in the the Palisades Apartments, near the campus form of black-on-black violence, by introducof Jackson State University. Emerson then re- ing more positive images of African Americans portedly met up with Henderson at U.S. 80 in the curriculum, Orey said. and Lynch Street before heading back to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have not addressed black-on-back Palisades Apartments to confront the people crime with same energy that we have nonHenderson said beat him up. black-on-black crimeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problemEmerson, armed with 9 mm and .40- atic,â&#x20AC;? he said. caliber handguns, confronted â&#x20AC;&#x153;several individComment at www.jfp.ms.

*03 /NE 3TEP #LOSER TO .EW 3UPERINTENDENT

by Elizabeth Waibel

Cedrick Gray, left, and Dennis Carpenter are the top two candidates in Jackson Public Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; search for a new superintendent.

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11

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Following Your Money

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es, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the future; no, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet have the paperless office. (Indeed, if you had a snapshot of the room in which Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m writing this, the idea of the paperless office would make a Chicago Cubs 2012 World Series win seem nearly inevitable.)

But, we can get closer. Desktop scanners have come a long wayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the dinosaurs that roamed the 1990s all the way down to the fantastic little NeatDesk scanner that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just recently added to the menagerie I call a desk. With separate slots for documents (up to 15 pages at a time), receipts and cards, the scanner makes fast work (and it really is fast) of scanning all of that paper youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find in your might-eventually-be-paperless office.

While the scanner is nice (note that scan quality is middle-of-the-road, and you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to use it for photo-quality images), the real magic happens with the NeatWorks software, which accepts all those scanned pages, turns them into PDFs, merges them together into multi-page documents or exports them into other formats.

You can manipulate, clean up, rotate and store your documents (along with notes and keywords) like email messages for easy retrieval; text-recognition even makes some scanned documents searchable.

Priced around $400 (and available every so often on Woot.com for much less), the NeatDesk is a bit of an investmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth every sheet of paper it eventually lets you shred. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Todd Stauffer

ft h he tt Solution, No

software sucks, we just suck the least,â&#x20AC;? the homepage for LessAccounting declares.

The â&#x20AC;&#x153;gold standardâ&#x20AC;? is, of course, QuickBooks. And again, QuickBooks is fine for Windows, but the Mac version is lacking. For most folks, the Mac version will do well enough. But be careful, because it does lack what some folks consider key components. (Why Intuit doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bring feature parity to both products is beyond me.)

In the QuickBooks-level realm, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll also find AccountEdge, which is cross-platform.

This is good software, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used it in the past. I prefer it to Personal QuickBooks.

The reigning champion But not everyone needs such here is Quicken, and for Winheavyweight accounting software. dows it is just fine. Nothing For those of you who do not, quite compares to Quicken, consider one of the many online even if it does have some drawservices. backs. You can connect to your My personal favorites are Outbank account, track investments right and Kashoo. Both provide and portfolios, and pay bills all free services that will give you the from within Intuitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal fibasic necessities of tracking income nance application. and expenses with a few reports.

On the Mac, however, But for $9.99 a month, you get a Quicken Essentials is a joke. much better set of features, includCross-platform AccountEdge You can do very few of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;esing tax tracking and reporting. The software is a good choice for small sentialâ&#x20AC;? tasks one would expect major difference here is the invoicbusiness accounting. from personal finance software. ing ability. While both integrate Instead, take a look at iBank 4, with Freshbooks and Harvest, only which I consider the leading Kasho offers built-in invoicing abilpersonal financial app for Mac. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not quite as good as ity. Keep that in mind.

Quicken, but it has most of what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need.

Finally, there is the aforementioned LessAccountThen there is Mint, which now is owned by Intuit. ing. Where Xero has the most robust feature set, and Mint is an online personal finance app. You can track Outright and Kashoo offer what most one- or two-perincome and expenses, pay bills, create a home budget son shops need, LessAccounting is right in the middle. and manage a basic investment portfolio. The user in- It has a great feature set, is well designed and provides terface is a bit difficult for me at times, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best excellent tools and access for accountants. Their biggest solution Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve foundâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;short of running Windows virtu- drawback, however, is the price. At $30 a month, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ally on my Mac so I can use Quicken. Mint is also free, hard for me to justify. which helps.

At the end of the day, there is no shortage of financial apps. Getting excited about using them, however, Business may be a struggle.

When it comes to business financial apps, they all Sam R. Hall writes about technology and Apple at suck. In fact, one of the leading online financial apps flashingrobot.net. He can be reached by email to sam@ admits to that up front. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All small business accounting samrhall.com.

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or many, tracking finances is more chore than enjoyment, whether you are dealing with a business or your personal funwds. And given how technology has made it easier to buy things, money can get tighter quicker.

The easiest solution is to simply hire an accountant, which I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone starting a business venture. But an accountant will not be there by your side every day to help you track your income and expenses. You still need your own solutions.

Intern at the JFP Hone your skills, gain valuable experience and college credit* by interning with the Jackson Free Press. You set your hours, and attend free training workshops.

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Interested? E-mail interns@jacksonfreepress.com, telling us why you want to intern with us and what makes you the ideal candidate. *College credit available to currently enrolled college students in select disciplines.

eye

AMERICASROOF

media

by Valerie Wells

The Pejorative Report Journal-isms, he recently pointed out that The Washington Post started using the word without quotes. Specifically, the paper used it in a headline. He contacted the Post’s managing editor, who told him the newspaper avoids the term “Obamacare” in its front news section.

Prince also talked to the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times.

Editors told Prince that “Obamacare” came from one side of the political debate, which is why it is not a good word to use in a news story. Most times, the term shows up in columns and letters to the editor. Some of the papers only use it when quoting a source. For example, some stories quoted the president using the term: “They call it Obamacare. I do care, that’s right,” Obama said in October.

Prince noted that conservatives who opposed health-care reform had been using the term regularly, hoping it would become second nature to journalists. They had a strategic plan to introduce it as the de-facto shorthand for the wordy Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Using terms like “illegal alien” are deliberate political ploys to evoke negative emotions.

Editors and reporters who use the repeated phrase without thinking become accomplices

to hate. It’s hard to believe that wordsmiths could be so careless or so easily led.

On the conservative side, complaints about the so-called “liberal” media continue.

The infamous Internet prank to change the meaning of the name Santorum to something beyond nasty is clearly mean. Pro-business forces say it’s pejorative to use terms such as “pink slime” to refer to the meat byproduct substance that companies produce.

It’s a challenge for a writer to describe something accurately and precisely so that anyone can understand the context and maybe learn something new. Journalists are generalists who depend on many experts to explain complicated processes and terms. They then have to condense that information and often rely on publicists and other shortcuts to help them get there by deadline. Journalists demand (when they are feisty) that people explain their jargon and drop the shoptalk. Smart journalists treat political buzzwords the same way. Call something by its simplest correct name and not the invented term meant to diminish others.

Journalists strive to be “objective,” but if you ever meet a reporter or editor who swears they are totally objective, they are lying. No

one is totally objective. Whether we grew up in Mississippi or can’t afford gas, it finds a way in our reporting. All we can do is endeavor to be honest and clear and open to criticism.

Before Fox News stole the phrase and twisted its meaning, most journalists sought to be “fair and balanced,” a long-standing journalism ethic. Recently, National Public Radio released a new Ethics Handbook (ethics.npr. org) for its reporters to be “fair to the truth,” rather than what Jay Rosen, a media critic and New York University journalism professor, calls “he said/she said” reporting. He’s not the only one—it’s an old phrase similar to “kneejerk journalism” (a pejorative phrase). Rosen says NPR’s new ethics policy steps beyond that hackneyed formula for reporting that, in the end, tells the reader nothing.

Here’s how NPR is rising above such a low standard: “We report for our readers and listeners, not our sources. So our primary consideration when presenting the news is that we are fair to the truth. If our sources try to mislead us or put a false spin on the information they give us, we tell our audience.”

May we all be fair to the truth.

Comment at www.jfp.ms.

jacksonfreepress.com

W

hen Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a slut, it was clear he was using a pejorative term. He meant to belittle Fluke, a law student at Georgetown University who spoke before U.S. House Democrats in support of birth control.

Limbaugh is a showman, not a journalist, yet his language created a backlash for the outspoken conservative radio personality.

But it’s not just the Rush Limbaughs who use language to degrade and insult. As politicians throw around emotionally packed words on the attack, some journalists wind up repeating them. Before long, some reporters and editors start assuming the pejorative term is an acceptable way of describing something.

It’s kind of like how Xerox lost its power when everyone started using the trade name as a common noun and verb. Google it.

Sometimes these things happen organically as language evolves. Other times, calculated measures try to speed up the way we talk and think. “Obamacare,” a term Republicans coined, is such a creation. It refers to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that the president signed in 2010.

Richard Prince of the Maynard Institute watches how journalists use words like “Obamacare.” In his column, Richard Prince’s

13

jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

We Like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Obamacareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

W

ith the U.S. Supreme Court considering health-care reform, we thought weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d mention that (a) our health-insurance rates are down, (b) we appreciate the tax credits for our small business, and (c) weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already seen cases where pre-existing conditions or gaps in coverageâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; which used to keep employees from getting insuranceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are no longer barriers to coverage. Health insurance in this country used to suck; now it sucks less.

For those of you hoping the Supreme Court strikes down the individual mandate, think about two things. First, the tax code doles out favors based on what we buy (and sell) all the time: a mortgage-interest deduction for homeowners, but nothing for renters; lower capital-gains taxes for income derived from stock sales; tax credits for child care; extra taxes on beer and cigarettes. The idea that one might pay a tax or a penalty if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have adequate health insurance is not only a good idea, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a GOP idea, introduced by 20 Republican senators back during the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hillarycareâ&#x20AC;? debates in Bill Clintonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first term in office.

Second, if we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have everyone paying into the system via the private insurance system, then guess what? Do you really think this country is going back to insurance that sucks more? We doubt it. The Supreme Court overruling the individual mandate is going to lead to one thingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a public option. And that will be something perfectly acceptable to the Supreme Courtâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;like the Medicare tax that comes out of your check every pay period.

Get ready.

FIRST PERSON

CECIL BROWN

Mississippi Students Deserve Better

April 4 - 10, 2012

A

14

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BY GLEN GREGORY

March for Equality

D

espite his young 18 years, Bob Gilchrist is not one to back down from a cause. The organizer of Fondrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s March for Gay Equality scheduled the event for Thursday, March 1. However, when the group gathered to march from Fondren to the state Capitol, they were stopped by Jackson police, who cited a lack of liability insurance to march on Jackson city sidewalks. Most of the group gathered at the Capitol, albeit arriving in cars.

Gilchrist did not give up on his desire to march to the Capitol, wanting to bring people together to show that Jackson has active GLBT community striving for equality. Almost immediately, he began planning another march. This time, he scheduled it for March 24 and planned to split into smaller groups of no more than two dozen marchers each to avoid the required liability insurance.

March 24 arrived, and Fondren was abuzz with the Zippity Doo Dah festivities. We gathered for the march at Cups just before 10 a.m.

The group was smaller this time, only about 16, perhaps due to the possibility of confrontation. We remained inconspicuous until time to head out.

At 10 a.m., Bobâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lanky frame led the way.

As he waved a large rainbow flag on a pole topped with a cross, the lively group of supporters followed with various signs and more flags. Within the first block, we saw two JPD cruisers, but they seemed not to even notice us. Before we reached Woodrow Wilson Drive, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d already had several passersby honking and waving support.

About halfway along the march, we paused

and Bob recounted an incident there the day before as he marked the route.

People told him he should be ashamed and should read the Bible, he said.

We continued on, still getting honks, cheers and waves. Occasionally, in some cars, the occupants blankly stared at us. Police cars passed without incident. Around High Street, four motorcycle officers passed and honked. As we turned to them, the cops gave us the â&#x20AC;&#x153;OKâ&#x20AC;? sign. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure if this was support or just signaling that our group was an appropriate size.

After reaching the Capitol, we gathered and celebrated the moment and the success of the march. Then we began the trek back, feeling a special â&#x20AC;&#x153;pride,â&#x20AC;? if you will. As we approached Rainbow Plaza and then waited for a crossing light, two motorcycle officers stopped and asked if we were marching to the Capitol. Bob calmly said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No sir, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just walking to our cars,â&#x20AC;? and they were on their way. Did they want to escort us or try to stop us if we were going? We may never know.

While Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event was a success, the GLBT community still has work to do, and more events will be planned.

Glen Gregory is a Smith County native. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lived in Hattiesburg and Vicksburg, but Ridgeland is home now. A self-confessed gear-head, in addition to cars, he loves cooking, baking and photography.

Have you participated in an event or activity you want to tell us about? Send up to 500 words to ronni@jacksonfreepress.com. High-res photos are welcome.

Email letters to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019 or mail to P.O. Box 5067, Jackson, MS 39296. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Or write a 300-600-word â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your Turnâ&#x20AC;? and send it by email, fax or mail above with a daytime phone number. All submissions are subject to fact checks.

SOPHIA HALKIAS

Taking Jackson With Me EDITORIAL Managing Editor Ronni Mott News Editor Elizabeth Waibel Reporters Jacob Fuller, R.L. Nave Events Editor Latasha Willis Deputy Editor Briana Robinson Copy Editors Dustin Cardon,Tam Curley Contributing Editor Valerie Wells Music Listings Editor Natalie Long Fashion Stylist Meredith Sullivan Writers Torsheta Bowen, Quita Bride, Marika Cackett, Scott Dennis, Bryan Flynn, Brandi Herrera, Diandra Hosey, Pamela Hosey, Robyn Jackson, Garrad Lee, Larry Morrisey, Robin Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bryant, Eddie Outlaw, Julie Skipper Editorial Interns Elyane Alexander, Brittany Kilgore, Whitney Menogan, Adria Walker Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Art Director Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Andrea Thomas Production Designer Latasha Willis Graphic Designer Holly Harlan Staff Photographer Virginia Schreiber Editorial Cartoonist Mike Day Photographers Trip Burns, William Patrick Butler,Tate K. Nations, Jerrick Smith, Amile Wilson Graphic Design Interns Eric Bennett, Erica Sutton

ADVERTISING SALES Sales Director Kimberly Griffin Account Executives Mandy Beach, Adam Perry Sales Assistant Marissa Lucas Sales Intern Morgan Bares

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Bookkeeper Montroe Headd Executive Assistant Erica Crunkilton Distribution Manager Matt Heindl Distribution Avery Cahee, Raymond Carmeans, Jeff Cooper, Mik Davis, Clint Dear, Richard Laswell

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pril makes nine months since I have lived away from Jackson, the city where I was born and where I lived for 24 years before moving to Austin, Texas.

Most days, the change in scenery is surreal. I drive down busy Congress Street toward a downtown where streets are teeming with professionals, all scurrying to jobs at one of the sleek high-rises nearby. Just over the river, the growing skyline is a sight to behold, from the pyramid-like, graduatedsteps design of One Congress Plaza to the beautiful, ornate folds of the Frost Tower, which looks like an owl. The Texas state Capitol, the second-largest capitol building in the United States (the largest is in Washington, D.C.), stands at the end of the drive.

Though I am in love with Austin, I think about Jackson every day. It is my homeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;my first one, anywayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and I proudly boast its name.

When I first arrived, I wore a necklace with a pendant in the shape of Mississippi, a gift I bought myself at Mistletoe Marketplace, and I used it as a way to tell inquiring admirers about my home state and the people who live there. (Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve since replaced that pendant with another one, a pair of wings, which a friend gave me with the note â&#x20AC;&#x153;To Sophia: who had to spread her wings.â&#x20AC;?)

To my surprise, I discovered that many people knew of Jackson or had even been there. Also, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Helpâ&#x20AC;? had just made it to the big screen, and many customers at the independent bookstore where I worked came in to grab copies. My Austin friends saw the movie version at the Alamo, a popular independent theater here. In turn, I told them about witnessing the revitalization of the historic street front used to depict 1960s Jackson in the film: my old Fondren neighborhood.

I chatted with a visiting couple who, when I asked where they were from, revealed that they lived in Clinton. The lady had attended Ole Miss. It was a small world, we concluded.

Later, I met a woman reading â&#x20AC;&#x153;Crooked Letter, Crooked Letterâ&#x20AC;? by Tom Franklin.

When I mentioned that the author was a professor at Ole Miss and that I was from Mississippi, she recounted her own stories of participating in Freedom Summer.

At a popular Austin burger joint, I sat at the bar with a handsome African-born businessman from Houston, who made regular trips to Jackson. He immediately began raving about Julep restaurant and asked if I knew of a barbecue restaurant in the shape of a trolley. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, but sources (my mother) say that it is Chimneyville Smokehouse.

One of my Austin acquaintances attended Millsaps College, like me, and is ever

my Mississippi ally, swapping opinions about the best Jackson restaurants (my pick: BRAVO!; his: Amerigo) and letting me know where I can get good Cajun food.

Never assuming that I share Austinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s predilection for vegetarianismâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;though I did for four years, when I lived in Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;he also let me know the best place to get a steak in my adopted home.

That friend is actually a Louisiana boyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whenever LSU or the Saints play, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rooting for them. But all the way out here in Texas, it sometimes feels like our upbringings, relatively close in proximity, are the same.

Recently, I bumped into author Susan Haltom. She happened to be carrying her book on Eudora Welty, â&#x20AC;&#x153;One Writerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Garden.â&#x20AC;? The University Press of Mississippi (where I worked as an editorial assistant) published the book. I identified her by the familiar cover in her hands, which my friend and colleague John Langston designed. Haltomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son identified my Mississippi roots by the necklace. We chatted about Mississippi, and my two worlds seemed to collide.

I first came to know of the miracle that is Austinâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a bustling downtown wrapped up in its signature quirkinessâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;by interning at the Jackson Free Press. Donna Ladd and Todd Stauffer are big proponents of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Rise of the Creative Classâ&#x20AC;? by urban-studies sociologist Richard Florida, who writes about communities supporting local artists.

(Incidentally, this was the first book I purchased upon my arrival in Austin.) Donna and Todd have touted this book and its insights as a roadmap for Jackson to realize its full potential as a creative-class city.

I have never stopped believing in and trying to live out such a vision for Jackson.

When I decided that I wanted to expand my horizons, Austin seemed like the perfect place to be, because my time spent being a part of and learning about Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creative class had prepared me for it.

If anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear to me about Jackson that wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t clear before, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reach is huge, something I felt in my heart when I lived there, but something that, through the acknowledgment of others in a distant place, I now know to be a reality. I continue to hope that Jackson fulfills its potential as a creative-class city and Mississippi does the same as a creative-class state. And I hope that, no matter where I am, I continue to fulfill the promise of Mississippi, too.

Jacksonian and Millsaps College graduate Sophia Halkias is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas. She loves traveling, novels, foreign films and good conversation.

Though I am in love with Austin, I think about Jackson every day.

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Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer

15

NN ET BE ER IC

How Local Businesses Lure Best, Brightest

T

Home, Brain, Home

by Valerie Wells

A April 4 - 10, 2012

JARO VACEK

young and bright Alan Henderson left his north Jackson home after graduating from St. Joseph Catholic School in 2005. He packed his bags and headed to Howard University in Washington, D.C., to study architecture. It was a great time to be in the nation’s capital for a smart student curious about what works well with urban planning and design.

Washington, D.C., has become one of the hottest cities where young professionals migrate for work, play and a fulfilling lifestyle. That transformation wasn’t easy. Just a few years ago, Washington was ranked 44th among U.S. cities attracting 20-somethings. Since 2008, it has jumped to sixth place with the help of young, funky neighbor-

16

Brad Reeves, an attorney and owner of Brent’s Drugs, says his local business gives him a connection to the community.

hoods, such as the U Street Corridor near Howard, which has claimed its mantel as one of the coolest (and most diverse) urban neighborhoods in the country.

A Brookings Institution study, cited in an Adweek article entitled “Young Adults Choosing ‘Cool’ Cities,” found that between 2008 and 2010, recent college graduates gravitated to cities with a strong college-town vibe.

That, in turn, means a strengthened work force.

Henderson witnessed Washington’s transformation into a Mecca for young professionals, but he wasn’t compelled to permanently join an emerging hip scene in D.C. He wanted to be part of the Jackson buzz.

“I knew as early as my freshman year I wanted to come back,” he said. “I saw what was happening in Fondren, in Belhaven and in west Jackson. I saw the opportunity was here.” After he graduated from Howard in 2010, he came home to start his professional career and help design a better Jackson.

Strengthening the local business community is no small part of building a better Jackson.

It’s About Attitude It is no coincidence that the “cool” cities where young workers want to live are filled with vibrant communities of locally owned businesses where they can hang out even if they’re paying their dues in a boring workplace. The same Adweek article advised: “In recession, they’re looking for a hipper vibe.”

That hipper vibe isn’t found in the chain stores that sell the same items no matter where they’re located, and it doesn’t come from large developments—especially if they price out the little guys. The vibe is all about the local businesses that help cultivate and spread it—whether small boutiques, vintage stores, coffee shops, record stores, health markets, taquerias and even food trucks.

Locally owned niche businesses in areas like Fondren and, increasingly, downtown and west Jackson, create an authentic experience that talented people in their 20s and 30s want to experience (and that many older consumers quickly grow to appreciate). The community feel at Koinonia Coffee House or Sneaky Beans, the funky consignment shops and art galleries, and a variety of restaurants offer new experiences and an urban heartbeat. That’s part

of what brought Henderson home and part of what attracts new people to Jackson.

It’s not just a population influx; it’s an increase in what urban sociologist Richard Florida calls the “creative class.” He has written about what’s behind this talent migration in “The Rise of the Creative Class” (Basic Books, 2002, $28.99) and “The Great Reset” (Harper, 2010, $26.99).

In simple terms, the creative class includes bright people of all ages, including those who work in high technology as well as traditional creative occupations.

This demographic group insists on access to cultural events, and as a result, this group brings with it a better quality of life for a city. In Atlantic Monthly, Florida writes regularly about the amenities—or “creative capital”—that attract creative people, showing the connection between cities with bike trails, vibrant music scenes and higher rates of happiness.

Steven Pedigo is director of research at Creative Class Group, a development-consulting firm that Florida founded based on his urban theories. Pedigo says Florida’s explanation of culture includes more than events and festivals—it’s also about attitude.

“The role of tolerance and diversity plays a crucial part,” Pedigo said. Those attributes add to the quality of a place that makes it a great community, he said.

But people base their decisions to live in a certain community on many factors: Can they meet their basic needs? Is there a social outlet to find one’s niche? Are the community’s values similar to those of the potential resident?

“What we know is that what one person looks for in a city is different from what another person looks for,” Pedigo said. His research, however, shows that creative class types and young professionals flock to cities with strong leadership. The folks also crave aesthetics.

“We all would like to live in places that are beautiful,” he told the Jackson Free Press.

Pedigo writes a column for Inc. magazine. In January, he wrote about why a city has a particular impact on any business.

“Your people—not your products or technology—are the driving force of your business, and talented workers go

That Urban Feel Alan Henderson, the St. Joe soccer player who studied architecture at Howard, now works at the Mississippi Development Authority. He is part of the Assets Development office. His job includes traveling to different communities in the state to evaluate their existing assets. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We go around and help communities through asset mapping. We look at what they have to offer a community,â&#x20AC;?

Henderson said.

He maps the historic and cultural treasures as well as energy and transportation assets. Then, he analyzes whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s there and points out what is needed. One town he would rather not name needed garbage cans downtown. He makes suggestions about vacant buildings, facades, future parks and more. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are the intangibles, the things they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know they are missing,â&#x20AC;? Henderson said.

His time in Washington, D.C., taught Henderson much about what good urban design looks like. His fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction company, New Concept Builders, has taught him about building in Jackson. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s putting his visions into a new venture, BlackWhite Development, with his business partner, Matthew Bolian. They already have a downtown project in the works.

Henderson, 24, isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ready to talk about the details. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still in the feasibility stage,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He will freely talk about the bigger picture of smart growth and placemaking, though. He envisions a Jackson where people can bike or walk to work.

He sees placemaking as integral to modern urban design. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With placemakers, you know where you are. Fondren has done that with public art, festivals and its iconic buildings,â&#x20AC;?

Henderson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diversity is multifaceted. We shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to go to Fondren to feel like we are in a different place.â&#x20AC;?

Nicole McNamee, director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Young Professionals Alliance, works to expose the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young professionals to Henderson wants to do his own experienced local business people and to provide networking opportunities. placemaking in downtown Jackson. He understands the appeal of small, locally moved here,â&#x20AC;? she said. McNamee organizes luncheons for the owned establishments that are de facto community centers group with CEOs and experienced business owners. She also where residents meet and connect. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how you create puts together socials that are a little less structured. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They can nostalgia and memories,â&#x20AC;? Henderson said. meet people in their own age range,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love Jackson. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real-estate development and deMcNamee is looking for other organizations to part- sign work in D.C. or New York, but the market is so saturated. ner with, so her group can expose young professionals to It takes high amounts of capital,â&#x20AC;? Henderson said. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s found other aspects of Jackson besides the business community. opportunity here at home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know people who are aspiring to She mentioned the Mississippi Creative Economy study change.â&#x20AC;? He sees it, and he says itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what brought him home. that came out in August.

Henderson is concerned about convincing other young The study was a joint effort of the Mississippi Devel- creative professionals into sticking around long enough to opment Authority and the Mississippi Arts Commission. It make it happen. identified that 61,000 people in the state work in creative â&#x20AC;&#x153;For people my age, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a daily struggle. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard for me to occupations. stay in Jackson. I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lie. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a struggle,â&#x20AC;? Henderson said.

The study also addressed some of Brad Reevesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conSome of it is about entertainment; some of it is attitude. cerns. One of the specific strategies the study suggests is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s missing here are the universities. Jackson is not buildpromoting cross-disciplinary efforts that encourage â&#x20AC;&#x153;more networking opportunities and activities, particularly those HOME BRAIN, see page 18 that involve young creative people.â&#x20AC;?

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;College Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Blake Reeves, a Jackson native, took his skill set to Austin, Texas. His love of theater and his backstage knowledge about building sets and tracking props led him to a dream job as the properties master at ZACH Theatre.

His older brother, Brad Reeves, 33, stayed home. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not that Brad didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t consider moving to a hip place like Austin or Nashville. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought I would move off,â&#x20AC;? he said. After he finished law school at Mississippi College, he took the state bar exam and reconsidered staying in Jackson. In 2009, the young attorney bought Brentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drugs in Fondren and turned it into a hip eatery and gift boutique that was recently featured in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Help.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;A local business has more of a connection to that city.

Owning a local business can allow someone to be a piece of the community, a part of the fabric,â&#x20AC;? Reeves said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It allows them to feel that connection.â&#x20AC;?

When it comes to battling brain drain, Reeves thinks Jackson could do a better job selling itself as a college town.

A Hinds County Economic Development Council survey from last year showed that the city of Jackson has more than 40,000 college students. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jackson can take advantage of some of the sharpest students in the state if we can just keep them here and buying in that the futureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bright,â&#x20AC;? Reeves said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do we get them excited and wanting to stay here? Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to listen to their voices. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t continue to say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jackson is great.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; We need to step back and listen.â&#x20AC;?

Reeves listens to visitors from cities like Asheville, N.C., Columbia, S.C., and Charlottesville, Va., as well as friends in Birmingham, Ala., New Orleans, La., Nashville, Tenn., and the ever-popular Austin. He constantly considers what those other cities are doing that Jackson isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the little things like kickball leagues and social events for young-professional types,â&#x20AC;? Reeves said. Events like the Crossroads Film Festival and FIGMENT pull young folks together, he says. He laments the demise of the once-annual Jubilee!JAM music festival, but points to other cultural gems such as Arts, Eats and Beats in Fondren. Jackson needs to keep building on this momentum, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Otherwise, you end up with people saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing to do in Jackson,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he said.

A larger variety of restaurants and entertainment can help prevent brain drain, Reeves said. Eateries like Parlor Market raise the bar, and when the competition takes notice, the creative class benefits from lots of great choices.

Reeves sees the same thing happening with music and entertainment. With more people come more activities any given night, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then we need them to show up,â&#x20AC;? he said.

On the Front Line When you mention the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;brainyâ&#x20AC;? to Nicole McNamee, she jokes that the first image that comes to her mind is someone who wears suspenders and oversized glasses. McNamee is on the front line of preventing brain drain in Jackson. As director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Young Professional Alliance, she knows many of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best and brightest. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The YP Alliance for 21-40 year olds started out as a social groupâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;those who just graduated from college or who just

VIRGINIA SCHREIBER

where the opportunities are: to the city,â&#x20AC;? Pedigo wrote. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And the people living in cities are younger and more diverse than the rest of the U.S. population. The generous talent pool in cities, often specialized and concentrated, offers business owners the opportunity to find the brainpower and specific skill sets they need for their companies.â&#x20AC;?

Pedigo told the JFP that getting hot, young talent to move to town is only a small part of a good economic strategic plan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of people focus too much on talent attraction.

The question is how do you keep talent at home?â&#x20AC;? Pedigo said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Make people stick with strong bonds. That type of talent is less likely to leave.â&#x20AC;?

17

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LACEY MCLAUGHLIN

from page 17

Alan Henderson saw the transformation of Washington, D.C., into a hip urban center. He chose to return home to Jackson to be part of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renaissance.

ing around its universities. In other cities, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where people mingle. They want that urban feel. It has an energy,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Henderson uses Millsaps College as an example. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so close to Fondren, but really a world apart. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The students are confined to the gates,â&#x20AC;? Henderson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They lose that energy and drive. If they want to leave campus, they get in a car and drive 10 miles.

And then they lose the urban experience.â&#x20AC;?

Steven Pedigo also stresses that cities where the universities and colleges are part of urban life are the cities where young talented adults want to live and work and play. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It creates an ecosystem,â&#x20AC;? Pedigo told the JFP. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Universities and colleges play a critical role in the economy. Twenty years ago, Austin was just a college town.â&#x20AC;?

One of the biggest draws colleges offer cities is access to arts and culture. Pedigo said that cities that build on that become magnets for the creative class as well as the young professionals who enjoy being near intellectual centers.

While Henderson continues to study the feasibility of his semi-secret downtown project, his business partner, Bolian, is working on his masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree at London School of Economics in the United Kingdom. A West Point graduate, Bolian could probably go to any city and succeed. He is planning to come back to Jackson when he finishes his studies and gets the prestigious international degree. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He sees what I see in Jackson,â&#x20AC;? Henderson said.

VIRGINIA SCHREIBER

A New Spin in Town

by Tam Curley

April 4 - 10, 2012

D

18

rew McKercher has played music since high school with about four different bands including Roosevelt Noise and Spacewolf.

Spacewolf is his main and most recent band; he has played with the group for two years. He and his wife, Sarah, a drummer, also play together as a duo.

Thursday, March 22, marked a â&#x20AC;&#x153;soft open first dayâ&#x20AC;? for the McKerchers new entrepreneurial venture: MorningBell Records and Studio. The grand opening weekend for the business was March 30 and 31. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I felt that Jackson needed a record store, and I wanted to supplement it with beer, classic â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;deadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; soda brands that have been recently relicensed, and arcade gamesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;just to be different from other music stores,â&#x20AC;? McKercher said.

He also said that he wants to support local artists, and at least a dozen are already selling music at MorningBell. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I always wanted to be self-employed and work for myself because it is better,â&#x20AC;? he says.

McKercher worked at BeBop Records in Vicksburg for more than five years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am different from them because I am more than a music store,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vinyl is coming back because people like tangible things versus digital music. There is a large format of artwork displayed with vinyl, and digital music helps vinyl because now, when people buy vinyl records, they come with digital download cards.â&#x20AC;?

The couple considered many locations to open their new business, but wanted to be somewhere where everyone would not mind driving. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fondren is a cooler part of town,â&#x20AC;?

McKercher says. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hoping the new business wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just benefit that neighborhood, though, but serve music geeks throughout the area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to go online to buy vinyl records anymore, so the store benefits the whole community,â&#x20AC;? he said.

If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mind standing, every Tuesday night starting around 7 or 8 p.m., MorningBell will host performances by out-of-town and local bands promoting

Vinyl selections in the new MorningBell Records and Studio in Fondren.

their CDs. For those brave enough, the open mic session on the same night is your time to â&#x20AC;&#x153;spit.â&#x20AC;? Tuesday shows will usually end before 10 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My goal is to help cultivate the music scene in Jackson and give younger people a place to come,â&#x20AC;? he added.

The music studio will be up to fullscale by mid-April, and MorningBell will charge hourly rates for those wanting to

record their tunes. The studio will also provide access to professional, commercial producers for musicians and singers who need those services; those fees would be negotiated separately.

MorningBell Records and Studio is located at 622 Duling Ave., Suite 212.

For more information, visit facebook.com/ morningbellrecords, or call 769-233-7468.

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Making The Connection

by Henry Jones

considering our recruiting situationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the Five Cs. The first four of these five Cs are easy to tick off with four fingers: â&#x20AC;˘ Climate. August here may be a beast, but for people sick of frigid, snowy winters (this past one notwithstanding), our mild Januaries and Februaries sound great.

or compensation values in a reasonable way.

Without that connection, companies are going to have their work cut out for them. They will need to go to greater lengths to sell our merits, address our shortcomings, and still go big with the career and compensation elements of the offer.

AMILE WILSON

Bomgar Corp. CEO Joel Bomgar says the key to getting and keeping great employees are the five Cs: climate, culture, career, compensation and connection.

â&#x20AC;˘ Culture. A hospitable, low-stress, safe, affordable lifestyle where your kids are going to see their friends at church looks like a godsend to parents anxious to reduce the speed of their rat race. â&#x20AC;˘ Career. Because of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;small pondâ&#x20AC;?

Mississippi affords, it can be easier to be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;big fishâ&#x20AC;? and jump up a few rungs on the career ladder, leading to responsibilities and opportunities that come with a bigger title. â&#x20AC;˘ Compensation. Sell your run-of-themill house for $750,000 in one of the major metropolitan areas around the country, and then see what that money will get you around here. You might conclude youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve won the lottery. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tough for Mississippi companies to offer higher-than-global-market salaries and remain competitive, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also tough for most people to accept lowerthan-global-market salaries when moving to a low-profile place like Mississippi. But the prices here for big-ticket items, particularly housing, can help standard compensation feel like a major raise.

Those four key Cs certainly provide the basis for a recruitment package that can attract attention, but the fifth C is the amplifier for all the others. It is the opposable thumb that makes those four fingers far more useful: connection.

When a potential recruit has a connection to Mississippi, a company can assume he or she knows the climate and career qualities of Mississippi and adjust the career

I have seen the critical role connection plays when recruiting to Mississippi, and the other members of Hosemannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s committee said the same.

One tech executive who has been hiring in Mississippi for more than 20 years said that any time he has been under pressure to manage a hiring growth spurt, he has instructed his recruiters to throw out all resumes without a clear Mississippi connection. He knows from costly experience that those particular recruitment efforts will be long and, quite likely, fruitless.

Yet when that connection exists, we agreed that the result could be fantastic for all involved. An executive had a Mississippi-born spouse whose parents are getting

ill and needed family nearby. A bachelor who left Jackson for Silicon Valley decided the guy-girl ratio wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t working in his favor. A couple of Ole Miss grads who felt unconnected to their community in Chicago remembered what being at the Grove felt like. A growing family in Washington, D.C., envisioned a life with less traffic and more family time with grandparents.

For the right people, we have priceless incentives to offer. The key is connection.

So how do we go about finding it? It was a recurring question for committee members, and one without a good answer.

For a society that is so social, how do we reach that native Mississippian or spouse, unhappy with his or her non-Mississippi reality but who believes that career options are limited to the coasts, and tell them that globally competitive options are here?

I am still trying to find strategies that work. Soon I will be testing advertisements in university alumni magazines. I can post opportunities to Facebook or LinkedIn, but they are not likely to get too far past my own limited network.

My list of ideas is too short.

What are your ideas? This is a question whose answers could benefit us all, and I would like to get as many suggestions as possible out in the open.

Please take the time to post a comment with your experiences and ideas under this article at jacksonfreepress.com. If you are reticent to post a comment for whatever reason, we can get your thoughts posted via an email to editor@jacksonfreepress.com.

Help us all connect in the future.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no excuse not to speak your mind.

Henry Jones is a Mississippian and technology entrepreneur, currently serving as CTO of Mav6 in Vicksburg and as director of the Center for Battlefield Innovation at Mississippi State University.

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I

n my 10 years of living in California, I never once heard anyone play the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Name Gameâ&#x20AC;? with another Californian. Yet, within my first day back in Mississippi, I was part of a conversation that takes place in thousands of variations on any given day around here: Fellow Mississippian: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re from Mississippi? Where are you from?â&#x20AC;?

Me: â&#x20AC;&#x153;A little town called Richton, near Hattiesburg.â&#x20AC;?

FM: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, my daughterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s college roommate is from Richton! Do you know the McSwains?â&#x20AC;?

Me: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course, Ken and Linda Sue. They are some of my parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; best friends.

What about you?â&#x20AC;?

FM: â&#x20AC;&#x153;A little town called DeKalb not too far from Meridian. Have you heard of it?â&#x20AC;?

Me: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Definitely: My mom grew up there. Did you know Margaret McCully?â&#x20AC;?

As we all know, that conversation can go on and on, and it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just a local phenomenon. Two Mississippians who meet in New York City, Lisbon or Nicaragua are going to do the same thing.

So how, then, did Silicon Valley birth Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp and a zillion other social-media companies, instead of Mississippi? We have been making everything social and building connections for so long that it is permanently in our bloodstream.

One possible reason is that it is hardâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; sometimes company-strangling hardâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to bring creative and professional talent to Mississippi to profit and grow at the cutting edge.

Last year, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann convened a committee of like-minded technology entrepreneurs to discuss ways that the state could encourage more high-tech growth. Attendees placed all sorts of ideas on the tableâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;tax credits, incentive packages, intellectual-property protection and many other pro-business conceptsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but the overriding concern that hampered growth for everyone was the same: recruiting.

My company has had open positions for senior technology leaders that have taken far too long to fill. A medical-specialty department at a major local hospital canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find a director, so it drifts leaderless and its physicians are leaving.

A successful high-technology company with an ardent Mississippi-focused executive teamâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;exactly the kind we want to nurtureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;has had to do most of its recent hiring in Atlanta and Dallas to find the staff it needs to keep growing.

As part of that committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort, Joel Bomgar, the CEO of one of Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most promising tech companies (Bomgar Corp.), put together a great framework for

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19

Listening Differently LARRY MORRISEY

by Larry Morrisey

Jazz musicians Rhonda Richmond (left) and Cassandra Wilson have opened Yellow Scarf, a new music venue that focuses on nurturing the connections between musicians and the audience.

C

April 4 - 10, 2012

assandra Wilson and Rhonda Richmond want Jackson to listen to music differently. Wilson, a Grammy Awardwinning vocalist, and Richmond, a multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, have opened Yellow Scarf, a new kind of music venue for the city.

Situated in a former photography studio on the edge of downtown, it will serve as an intimate space for music lovers who want to focus on the performance rather than a social scene. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes music can become a backdrop to whateverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening in a room,â&#x20AC;?

Richmond said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were interested in providing a space for listening to the music.â&#x20AC;?

The venue is the latest collaboration between the two longtime friends. Wilson and Richmond both grew up in Jackson in the Shady Oaks neighborhood and met while playing in the marching band at Powell Junior High (now Middle) School. Years later, they reconnected while attending Jackson State University, where they formed the group Past,

20

Present, and Future. It was an all-female band that featured Richmond on violin and Wilson on vocals and guitar. The group performed a wide range of musical styles, an approach that Wilson believes came from growing up in a city where musicians did not pay much attention to the lines between musical genres. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the crossroads of the South, you hear all kinds of music here,â&#x20AC;?

Wilson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not in (a Jackson musicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) psyche to delineate so much between the types of music.â&#x20AC;?

Another early influence on Wilson and Richmond was John Reese, the late founder of the Black Arts Music Society.

Reese presented many legendary jazz musicians in Jackson during the 1970s and â&#x20AC;&#x2122;80s. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We came through that group and learned a lot about the importance of live music,â&#x20AC;? Wilson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;(Reese) always said to us, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;You have to have a space.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I believe (Yellow Scarf) is picking up where he left off.â&#x20AC;?

The two musicians have continued to collaborate since their college days. In

2000 they formed Ojah Media Group, an entity that has produced albums for both Wilson and Richmond. The company is now branching out into presenting music through Yellow Scarf.

Prominently displayed at the venue is a painting of the Yoruba deity Oshun. Yellow Scarf takes its name from that image.

The performance section is a spare space with a high roof. With no stage, the audience sits close to the musicians, facilitating connections between them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very close and intimate,â&#x20AC;? Wilson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The audience is close enough to actually impact what happens with the music. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really important for that intimacy to happen in order to have real improvisation.â&#x20AC;?

Wilson and Richmond are not requiring Yellow Scarfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s featured musicians to play a specific amount of time. Instead, they will give them the flexibility to develop their own performance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you allow a musician to carry through with what his feelings are and his ideas, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much better,â&#x20AC;? Wilson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Instead of trying to restrain them, they will follow their own energy.â&#x20AC;?

Yellow Scarf had a â&#x20AC;&#x153;softâ&#x20AC;? opening in March, with a well-received show by Jackson jazz pianist Andy Hardwick. It was the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first â&#x20AC;&#x153;Honoring the Mastersâ&#x20AC;? concert, a planned monthly series at the venue that will feature Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s master jazz and blues musicians.

Wilson and Richmond will also perform at Yellow Scarf. Richmond is planning a weekly Thursday night residency at the space.

She believes it will be an ideal location for introducing audiences to her original songs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of people like to hear familiar music, and mine may not be necessarily familiar,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it can become familiar in a space like this.â&#x20AC;?

While Wilson continues to tour internationally, she plans to perform at the venue for Jackson audiences two or three times a year.

The two musicians would also like to offer music classes in the space for local schoolage children who are not able to afford private music lessons.

Wilson and Richmond believe that Yellow Scarf can help to usher in a new way of experiencing live music in Jackson. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping to stir up more great music and great audiences,â&#x20AC;? Wilson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to have both. The audiences help to create the music.â&#x20AC;?

Yellow Scarfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Premiere Weekend is Friday and Saturday, April 6 and 7, with a program titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wine, Women and Wisdom.â&#x20AC;? It will feature performances by Richmond and singer Tawanna Shaunte Friday night at 8 p.m., and a performance by Cassandra Wilson Saturday at 9 p.m.

Yellow Scarf is BYOB and seating is extremely limited; therefore, purchasing tickets in advance is strongly encouraged. For more information, call 347-754-0668.

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GET READY FOR A

MAJOR

REWARDS

BOOST BOO BO OST

Happy Easter From McDade’s Markets • Ham and all the trimmings • Easter Lilies and flowers • Fresh produce • Bakery fresh baked breads pies and even Bunny cakes!

Call ahead to special-order party trays

COMING

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Maywood Mart 1220 E. Northside Dr. 601-366-8486 Woodland Hills Shopping Center Fondren 601-366-5273 English Village 904 E. Fortification St. 601-355-9668 Westland Plaza 2526 Robinson Rd. 601-353-0089

Now In Yazoo City

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MID-APRIL!

21

22

April 4 - 10, 2012

Progress in South Jackson

by Jacob Fuller

NEEDED

Marketing and Sales Support Ninja

Do you live and breathe customer service?

JACOB FULLER

The JFP/BOOM Jackson advertising department needs your help keeping our advertisers and partners happy and prosperous! Your key duties will include planning and hosting marketing events, so flexibility for evenings and some weekends is ideal. Other duties including covering phones, generating reports, shooting product photos, running ad copy, helping with logistics.

Part-time and hourly to start, but the right person can expand this position.

Send cover letter and resume to todd@jacksonfreepress.com.

W

hen Jackson Square Shopping Center was built in 1968, it was the largest shopping center in the capital city. With 350,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space on 40 acres, it is still the city’s largest outdoor center.

California-based developer Jessie Wright purchased the property, located at 2460 Terry Road just off of Interstate 55, in February 2010, when only three operating businesses were open in the 30-space center: Bingo Depot, Bingo-Rama and Relevant Church. But Wright, a native of Los Angeles, saw the potential for something better. “I was out of my mind,” Wright said with a laugh when asked why he purchased the property. “I purchased it because it has a potential to start thriving again as it did 25 years ago.”

The center once housed stores such as a Zayre Department Store, TG&Y and Shainberg’s Department Store. But businesses began to move out in the late 1980s and into the 1990s, leaving little more than a hollow shell for more than a decade.

Despite the neglect, the buildings are still structurally sound, an aspect Wright said attracted him to purchase the property. First Boise Investments, Wright’s development firm that also owns properties in Southaven, Miss., and Birmingham, Ala., has replaced the facade on the front of the buildings with a new babyblue look, repaved the parking lot and added 60 grass islands to the lot.

Of the 30 available spaces, Wright says he’s leased 18, all to locally owned businesses.

He expects all 18 to be open by April 6, when the center will host its grand re-opening as Jackson Square Promenade. Festivities will include a carnival in the parking lot April 2-8.

Patrons will find retailers, including $7 Shop Women’s Apparel and A Perfect Fit PlusSize Fashion; services, including K’Chell’s Barber and Salon Boutique and Kids 1st Daycare; churches, including P.H.A.T. Church and New Direction Ministry; and restaurants, including Bernie’s Sports Grill, Old Skool Club 101 and Regent Teen Club.

To get lessees on board with the development, Wright is offering up to four months free rent and no deposit, dependent on a credit check of the business and its owner.

Tonya Green, owner of A Perfect Fit Plus-Size Fashion, was looking for a job after American Family Mortgage, the real estate company she worked for, closed. She said she researched her options and decided to open a boutique. It was the incentives and the persistence of Wright and former property manager Kenneth Pope-Johnson that convinced her to open her shop in Jackson Square Promenade.

“Between Kenneth and Jessie, they wouldn’t let me not come here. I think Jessie called me every other day,” Green said. “They showed me a lot of spaces. When I saw this one, I was like, ‘This is it, right here.’”

Wright has pushed her to get the store open by April 6. “We’ll be working around the clock until then to get it ready,” Green said.

Pope-Johnson announced March 20, via his Facebook page, that he had left his position as property manager for Jackson Square Promenade. Wright confirmed March 24 that Pope-Johnson was no longer working for him, and that Diana White had taken over as property manager.

Jackson Square Promenade will also soon be the home of the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department. “This is 2,400 square feet of space for about 10 offices for the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department,” Wright said. “It has a conference room for community meetings and security issues in south Jackson area. They are moving in by mid-May.” Several potholes have resurfaced in the parking lot since it was repaved in April 2010.

Phase 2 in the lot will include filling potholes and making any other needed upgrades. The phase will not be completed in time for the grand opening, though.

Future plans for Jackson Square also include a fitness center, complete with indoor swimming pool, and an 80,000 square-foot, open-roof amphitheater and concert hall.

Comment at www.jfp.ms.

jacksonfreepress.com

Jackson Square Promenade owner Jessie Wright stands in front of the sign located at the center’s Terry Road entrance.

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Creating Memories, One Home at a Time

April 4 - 10, 2012

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24

hen you think long-established family businesses in Jackson, several names might come to mind.

But in the real estate business, one really stands out: Nix-Tann and Associates.

Founded by Elaine Nix in 1977, Nix-Tann has become one of the leaders in their field with 44 agents spread across branch offices in Jackson, Ridgeland and Oxford.

Their belief in keeping a medium-sized staff with specialty area concentration has served them well over the decades.

“We have a broad range of people,” says Vice President Walker Tann. “Nix-Tann has everything from a 23year-old agent to agents that are now grandparents.

We have people who live in Jackson, Madison, Brandon, and the Reservoir area. So, if someone wants to buy a house, we have an agent who is intimately familiar with the area.”

They weren’t always that big. When the company was founded, Elaine Nix and her daughter, Becky, were a two-woman crew handling the entire business on their own. Early on, Elaine’s hus-

Changing the Food Game

band, who was formerly the head of the legal department at Trustmark Bank, saw that there were just not enough hours in the day for his wife and daughter to handle the all the responsibilities of running the entire company. So, he approached Bill Tann with the offer of a managerial position in this fledgling real estate company. Bill Tann, who was an accountant in a firm with his father and brother, took a chance and accepted the position. And, the rest, as they say, is history.

Walker Tann, also a broker for the company, is now the third generation to work with Nix-Tann.

“My parents wanted all the kids to have their real estate licenses. So, even though growing up we all said, ‘there’s no way we’ll ever do real estate,’ we all got our licenses.

My sister worked here for a while, but she’s now a stay-athome mom. My brother said, ‘No way,’ and went to Arizona State Law School and is now a practicing attorney.”

Today, Walker Tann finds himself and his grandmother’s company in a very unique position.

“We are now at a point where we are selling houses to the great-grandchildren of some of our original clients.

And, in some cases, the children of our earliest clients are dealing with the grandson of their original Realtor! The bottom line is Nix-Tann is going to do everything we can do to make buying a house a fun and memorable experience.”

1776 Lelia Drive Jackson, MS 39216 601.982.7918 www.nixtann.com

J

esse Houston and Steven O’Neil are on a mission. They want to bring you outstanding meals created using locally sourced food served by one of the best staffs around.

Houston, a graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu Austin and a Dallas native, came to Jackson in 2010 to help his friend Craig Noone open Parlor Market. “Craig wanted to open in downtown because there wasn’t anything like it around here,” said Houston, who was Parlor Marker’s first Chef de Cuisine.

“He really wanted Jackson to be a food city.”

When Noone passed away in October, the staff first grieved, then rallied. If possible, they began to work even harder on the Parlor Market dream. Houston took on the position of Executive Chef, and the culinary team continued to push the envelope while embracing the familiar. “We search for as many local or southern ingredients as possible to use on the menu whether it is meats or cheeses or olive oils. We want to stay southern. We use modern approaches to traditional cuisine.”

Their menu is seasonal.

Houston is at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning looking for fresh ingredients to inspire daily specials or the next menu change.

“We like to change it up. We really work hard to keep it interesting and fresh. I monitor food trends, follow what other chefs are doing and read the latest cookbooks. We want to bring Jackson the latest.

We want people to try new foods.”

Houston takes pride in the team they’ve assembled. “Enrika Williams is our Sous Chef, and Reynolds Boykin does all of our charcuterie (meat preparation).

We have a very strong staff, and I think our food shows it.”

O’Neil, who grew up in Jack-

son, started out as Bar Manager and was recently promoted to Front of the House Manager. He also helped open the restaurant.

Creating a remarkable dining experience is his passion. “We give a very unique experience. We’re all about education: knowledge of food and cocktails. The kitchen teaches us, and we in turn share with the tables about how the food is prepared and unique ingredients. It’s the same thing with cocktails. We explain why a cocktail is shaken versus stirred.”

The bar selections are also a combination of modern and tradition. They feature Mississippi’s first prohibition and pre-prohibition cocktail menu, an extensive southern wine list and an impressive spirits collection. “We’ve got 42 bourbons, 38 scotches, different ryes and Irish whiskeys, gins along with crazy hard-to-find liquors that we use in our prohibition cocktails,” O’Neil said.

When asked if he’s planning on making any immediate changes to the dining experience, O’Neil says “no.” Then he remembers one big change that he’s excited about: “We have a parking lot! Our customers can now park behind the Mayflower.”

Houston is also excited about another change. “We are slowly changing our price point. It was our New Year’s resolution. We don’t want people to not come and enjoy the food because of the price,” he said.

Parlor Market is planning their sixth pop-up restaurant on April 23. “PM Tiki” will have Polynesianinspired food fun rum drinks, live music, and maybe even a limbo contest. The restaurant, which spearheaded the pop-up concept in Jackson, is planning at least two more for the summer.

115 W. Capitol St. Jackson, MS 39201 601.360.0090 www.parlormarket.com

PAID ADVERTISING

S

teven Sahler opened Burgers and Blues in April of 2010, because he wanted to provide metro area residents a quality product in a family friendly atmosphere. “I just have a passion for it,” Sahler said.

“We want to be known as the best food and service in the business. That’s what we strive for and work on every day. Those are the two things you have to have in this business. If you have one without the other, it doesn’t work.”

It’s been over two years since he opened his doors, and the hard work has paid off. Burgers and Blues won the Jackson Free Press Best of Jackson award for Best

Burger in 2011 and 2012.

The burgers are created by hand daily. The meat is always fresh and seasoned according to a unique recipe. Your burger can be made with ground beef, ground turkey, chicken breast or a garden burger. Burger sizes are 4 ounces, 8 ounces and a pound.

Of course, burgers aren’t the only thing they serve. There are daily plate-lunch specials, fresh salads, wraps and a decadent dessert menu.

Sahler says nothing really prepared him for owning his own business but does credit his extensive server and bartending experience with providing some footing. “I always knew that I wanted to open my own restaurant. I had this vision for a family friendly restaurant where you could enjoy it if you are 2 or 92.”

1060 East County Line Road Ridgeland, MS 39157 601.899.0038 www.burgersblues.com

The Gentle Adjustment

A

sk Dr. Alan Rathburn what his two least favorite words are in the English language, and you will likely hear “pop” and “crack.”

“A lot of the common misconceptions and fears of chiropractic health care begin with those two words. I always tell my patients that what we do here is a ‘gentle adjustment,’ which is exactly what it is,” he said.

A lifelong athlete, Dr. Rathburn has been expounding on the virtues of a conservative, natural approach to restoring the body’s health since first opening his chiropractice practice in 1988.

After graduating from a four-year

program at the Texas Chiropractic College, Dr. Rathburn completed his associateship in South Jackson before beginning his practice. Since then, he has become certified in whiplash and as a strength and conditioning specialist.

“I’ve always approached what I do from the standpoint of one of my heroes, Jack LaLanne, who said: ‘The body is set up to heal itself. Let the body do it.’

“With chiropractic, we are able to adjust the spinal column without the use of these invasive procedures with much better long-term results.”

So, if you feel that it is finally time to have someone check out that nagging pain in your neck or back, give Dr. Rathburn a call. Just be sure to ask for a “gentle adjustment.”

612 Highway 80 East Clinton, MS 39056 601.924.4647

artisan-made, American-made

M

ichele and Craig Escude, creators of circa., believe so much in what they’re doing that they’ve trademarked the concept. Urban Artisan Living™ means living a life in the midst of a city surrounded by artisan-made items where every table, bowl, lamp, pillow, piece of clothing, jewelry, body lotion, shaving gel or culinary delight is a work of art that speaks to your soul with a cool, sophisticated, modern edge.

That’s the driving force behind circa., located in the historic Fondren District, which sells exclusively artisan-made, American-made items.

“circa.” literally means about or around a period of time. The name was chosen because each artisan item in the store has its own “circa,” a special time in which it was created.

The artisan-made items make particularly good gifts, for every birthday, wedding, graduation, holiday … or just because. In fact, gifts are such an important part of what circa. offers that they’ve got two signature gift services—“gift pick-up” if you’d like help making an ideal selection for a loved one, and the Objects of Desire™ gift registry for yourself!

Voted as one of the Best of Jackson 2012, circa. is the place to express your individuality. Stop by today.

2771 Old Canton Road Jackson, MS 39232 601.362.8484 www.circaliving.com

Running the Table

M

ost guys, at least at some point in their lives, have probably dreamed of the idea of owning a bar—often a sports bar. Usually, though, the dreaming stage is as far as it goes. Occasionally, though, someone follows through with the idea only to discover that the glamorous idea of owning a bar comes with a decidedly unglamorous amount of work. As with most things, you have to have a passion for it, and Reed Pierce is that guy.

Reed and his brother, Ronnie, both come from a family with long standing ties to the service industry in Jackson—their family owned

both the Smak ‘N Good Restaurant and Tin Tub Corner. Together, they opened Reed Pierce’s in 2006 at their current location in Byram. The original plan was to open a sports bar trading on Reed’s name as a professional pool player. (He won the 1995 U.S. Open and was a two-time champion on Team USA, winning the coveted Mosconi Cup.) After years of traveling, Reed was ready to settle down.

“We bought an existing facility and set it up to where you have onehalf of the interior as a restaurant/bar and the other half was set up with pool tables,” Reed said. “But, over time, the restaurant has sort of taken over. Over the past few years, we’ve found ourselves becoming two-time award winners for ‘Best Steak’ in Clarion - Ledger Metromix. So, we just try to keep our finger on the pulse and give our customers what they want, which has been great food at a great price.”

6791 Siwell Road Byram, MS 39272 601.376.0777

jacksonfreepress.com

Burgers, Blues and Family

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Flower-Box Babies

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pened in 1917, Greenbrook Flowers got its start as a way to handle the overflow of another business: Mynelle Gardens.

Mynelle Green and her mother, “Mamaw” Westbrook, founded Greenbrook to cater to the expanding flower business.

“She used to get the flowers from Mynelle Gardens,” says Gwyn Jacobs, one of the two operators of the current business, “until it became so big that she had to order out.”

Jacobs and her brother Daniel are the fifth generation of their family to work in the family business. Their mother, Janet Jacobs, is the current owner and can still be found in the shop nearly every day.

“We literally grew up in the current location,” Gwyn said. “We were all ‘flower-box babies.’ When

our parents would bring us up here during the holidays, they would put Daniel and me in these empty flower boxes to play. Those were our playpens. And, our children are being raised the same way.”

If Greenbrook’s commitment to consistency played a key role in their longevity, then you can’t overlook what has kept them in business for over 90 years—service to their customers.

“Greenbrook Flowers has a long-standing relationship with the people of Jackson, and we’ve worked hard to keep that going. We strive to keep the quality of work unmatchable. We handle jobs from the most traditional arrangements to the most modern designs. And we haven’t raised our prices in years.

We try to find ways to cut costs like ordering bulk so that we don’t have to raise our prices and can stay competitive in the local market.”

705 North State Street Jackson, MS 39202 601.957.1951

Lower Staffing Costs, Liability

April 4 - 10, 2012

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26

he increase in temp hiring this year may signal more than just an economic recovery—it may be a permanent shift for companies that decide they’d rather hire “temp” or “temp-to-perm” and see someone else deal with the recruiting, paperwork, healthcare management and even workers’ compensation.

“Savvy employers are using staffing services not just for recruitment but also to reduce costs and liability in uncertain times,” said Jane Sanders-Waugh, managing partner of Professional Staffing Group, LLC. Fondren-based PSG has grown from a legal recruitment firm to a fullservice staffing, recruitment and HR consulting firm, with specialties in professional and technical sectors.

PSG promotes the strategic use of temp, temp-to-hire, and payrolling. With these solutions, they either recruit candidates you can “try

before you hire,” or you can provide the candidate for them to fully vet.

PSG, in turn, will hire and payroll for you during the desired probationary period. That way you grow your business while mitigating risk and gaining the flexibility to staff up and down—and ensure a “good fit.”

Local involvement is critical to their success. Sanders-Waugh is active in the local theater community; her husband, David Waugh, is an executive recruiter for PSG and the president of the Fondren Association of Businesses. Co-founder Elizabeth Robinson is a local glass artist and member of the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild. You can see her work in the Glasshouse Gallery in the Fondren Corner lobby.

“We love Mississippi, Jackson and especially Fondren. And when it comes to recruiting people to the Deep South, that works to our advantage.”

2906 North State Street # 330 Jackson, MS 39216 601.981.1658 http://prostaffgroup.com

Something for Everyone, Work, Home or Play

S

andra Tucker Weber is a busy woman. She owns Olde Tyme Commissary, a toy store that specializes in heirloom toys; Organizers, which specializes in organizational products; and Inside Out, which sells home and garden items. All three stores are located in Highland Village.

Weber didn’t set out to own three businesses. She was an English major who began her career teaching school. Eventually, she chafed at the confines of a classroom; “I’m very creative, and I wanted to do something even more creative. I don’t like to be confined.

This grew from my creativity.”

Weber started Olde Tyme Com-

missary 40 years ago. She originally opened an Old Tyme Commissary in Greenwood but eventually ended up with one store in Jackson. “I wanted a children’s store that carried heirloom toys. We don’t do plastic.

We have toys around the store for children to play with because sometimes that’s the only way a parent knows what a child really likes.”

Weber is extremely proud of her the staff and products she carries: “You can find unusual things at the Olde Tyme Commissary.”

Inside Out is the tri-county’s only McCarty Pottery dealer. “I also think our customer service is excellent.,” she added.

Olde Tyme Commissary Inside Out, Highland Village #178 Jackson, MS 39211 601.366.5577 Organizers, Highland Village #174 Jackson, MS 39211 601.981.1973 Olde Tyme Commissary Highland Village #122 Jackson, MS 39211 601.981.1973

An Appetite for Community

W

hen Lee Harper opened Koinonia Coffee House in 2008, she and her then-business partner had a dream. They wanted to create a place where people from all walks of life could sit down over a cup of coffee, tea or smoothie.Today, Harper, who now runs the business with Chef Nate Coleman, is expanding the dream.

“Starting April 1, we’ll be a fullfledged restaurant. We’ve gone into partnership with a local chef, and he’s created a whole new menu for us,” Harper said. “We’ll be offering selections from that menu in April.”

The menu offers an array of new items for breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast offerings include breakfast sandwiches, waffles, grits, eggs and omelettes. Lunch now features paninis, flatbread pizzas, soups and salads.

The venue is also renovating to create a more comfortable atmosphere. They’ll have new furniture and are knocking out a half wall to create a larger space. Hours will expand the first week of May. The food isn’t the only change.

It is now called just Koinonia—not Koinonia Coffee House. The Greek word “koinonia” has to do with fellowship and the sharing of lives in deep and meaningful ways. One of the ways that Koinonia has fostered fellowship is to host the weekly Friday Forums sponsored by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce.

The forums, which start at 9 a.m. nearly every Friday of the year, feature speakers from the community.

“Of course, we’ll continue with the forums,” Harper said. “It’s a part of our mission. We’re still dedicated to community and connecting the people to one another.”

136 South Adams Street Jackson, MS 39203 601.960.3008 www.koinoniacoffee.net

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Shelter from the Storm

ounded in 1969, Mississippi Animal Rescue League has existed as a non-profit for its entire existence, even with a staggering annual budget of $900,000.

“We function strictly off donations,” executive director Debra Boswell said. “All gifts are appreciated. We count every penny here.”

As the Executive Director for the past 35 years, Debra Boswell has seen the Mississippi Animal Rescue League grow from one small shelter to a 5-acre facility with its own medical facility on-site. “We are Mississippi’s only ‘open admission’ shelter, meaning we never turn any animal away. We take in an average of 13,000 animals

per year, and we find homes for around 1,300 of these animals.

We also run a low-cost spayneuter program, which sees between 1100 and 1200 animals per year.”

So, if you are in the market for a new pet, please visit the friendly people at the Mississippi Animal Rescue League today and let them introduce you to the next member of your family.

L

5221 Greenway Drive Ext. Jackson, MS 39204 601.969.1631 www.msarl.org

The Enemy of Hair

inda Whitaker, known to many as L “The Wax Queen” or “The Enemy of Hair,” has been a do-it-yourself

woman since the beginning.

“I was raised by independent, self-employed parents, and I just never desired to work for anyone. I did work briefly in real estate, in California, which helped to strengthen my organization and business skills.”

As the owner of Whitaker Esthetics, Linda has been helping women and men to care for their skin and hair waxing needs since 1986, when she became a licensed esthetician.

“Part of the service that I provide revolves around helping people feel confident about their appear-

isa Palmer didn’t set out to create one of the South’s premier design destinations. She started out at as an art major at the University of Mississippi. “I started thinking that I didn’t want to be a starving artist for the rest of my life. I decided to go into interior design, and I changed to the University of Southern Mississippi because they were accredited

by FIDER (Foundation for Interior Design Education Research).”

Palmer went on to work as an independent interior designer from an office in Fondren, but it wasn’t long before she got the itch to open an adjacent retail space that sold furniture and home accessories. “I thought it would be a good idea to

open a place that carried more transitional furniture. I found that there was a need for my particular kind of store. My look is very streamlined and classic. I was having to special order furnishings for my clients, but so many wanted to touch it and feel it before they purchased furniture.”

The store eventually outgrew the space. In 2005, she moved to Ridgeland’s Township shopping center. She now has 6,900 square feet of showroom space.

When asked what makes her store unique, Palmer is quick to answer. “I have six very talented designers on staff,” Palmer said. “I also feel that my purchasing for the store is spot on for today’s consumer. I think about the level of customer service that other stores would have and I try and go above and beyond that.”

Highland Colony Pkwy # D Ridgeland, MS 39157 601.853.4445 www.summerhousestyle.com

Living a Hero’s Dream

ance. And in today’s competitive job market, it’s more important than ever to feel like you look your best.”

Over the course of her career, Linda has taken it upon herself to always be on the lookout for changing trends in her chosen field.

She has attended conventions on skincare from New Orleans to Tel Aviv in search of new and inventive products.

“Searching for the best products from around the world helps to keep me competitive,” Linda said.

“Cosmetic chemistry is an interest of mine. Regardless of the product label and manufacturer, it’s more important to verify what is in the product to make sure it’s going to work for the client’s skin condition.”

One client wrote of Linda: “When you walk into a room, you may not know that Linda is there, but your hair will. It will stand up straight, ready for battle. But, Linda always wins.”

8IJUBLFS &TUIFUJDT Whitaker Esthetics 6712 Old Canton Road Ridgeland, MS 39157 858.357.7257 OR Flowood, MS 601.862.5537

J

ay Long is a lifelong collector of comics and toys. After earning an MBA and Master’s in criminal justice, he decided it was time to combine his educational background with his passion and open a totally new pop-culture outlet for comics, toys, pop culture art and collectibles.

“When I graduated in 2005, I went to work as a part-time instructor for Hinds Community College and over the next year started contemplating opening my own business,” Long said. “During the summer of 2006, after lots of consideration and discussions with friends and family I decided that central Mississippi needed a really great comics and pop-culture retail store, so made

the leap into retail and never looked back.”

Long, along with Vice President of Retail Dale Griffin and Vice President of Production Joshua Powell, believes passionately in their “Dream Big” mission.

“We want to provide the local area with the very best service, fantastic products, and a fun environment for people of all ages and backgrounds to come and share ideas and be a part of a community,” Long said.

“We also expanded in 2009 to include film/video production.”

There is one thing that Long doesn’t love about his business.

“I don’t like paperwork. I’d rather be marketing the business, talking with my customers or looking for the next great comic book or collectible.

Paperwork is a necessary evil.”

5352 Highway 25 #1650 Flowood, MS 39232 601.992.3100

jacksonfreepress.com

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A Design Destination

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A Passion for Service

W

hen Thomas G. Harris opened Romantic Adventures with his brother and friend in 2002, they wanted to create a store that sold adult items in a fun, welcoming atmosphere. His two partners have since died, but Harris continues working on their dream. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We set out to create a store where everyone feels comfortable,â&#x20AC;? Thomas said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We really wanted couples and women to feel comfortable. We thought that was missing from this area.â&#x20AC;?

The shop is set up like any retail boutique, is well-lit and has security. They sell toys, DVDs and lingerie. More often than not, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see couples browsing and buying together. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of our customers are hardworking people in committed relationships. They are your neighbors and friends. They just want

A Galaxy to Explore in Downtown

to have some fun.â&#x20AC;? The store even offers military and police discounts.

Tammy Rose, Thomasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; life partner, is also the storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consultant. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interesting. Once you get into this industry, you find that a lot of the positions are held, by women,â&#x20AC;? said Rose. The stores number one priority is customer service. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are a non-judgmental here,â&#x20AC;? Rose said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone over age 18 is welcome as long as they are respectful of other customers and our staff.â&#x20AC;?

Some would say that Harris is an unlikely candidate to own this kind of store. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an Eagle Scout, an Air Force veteran and a member of the National Rifle Association. In fact, in his opinion, his all-American values are in keeping with running an adult boutique. He thinks that law-abiding citizens should be allowed to live their life without too much government interference. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We provide a service to metro area residents,â&#x20AC;? Harris said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We work hard to provide a quality product.â&#x20AC;?

175 Hwy 80 E Pearl, MS 39208 601.932.2811

I

n the Jackson cityscape, there are icons of our history: the King Edward, the Standard Life Building, the Old Capitol. One of the most unique of these has sat atop Lamar Street since it opened in 1978.

The Russell C. Davis Planetarium, with its green dome and white exterior, conjures up some feeling of Stanley Kubrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;2001: A Space Odyssey.â&#x20AC;? Its current manager, John Williams (not the Star Wars theme song composer), has been with the facility since he answered a newspaper ad in 1987. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had not run projectors before I came here,â&#x20AC;? Williams remarked. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My background was in repairing audiovisual technology. I was always taking things apart and putting them

back together. I just never thought that would be my career path and that it would lead me here.â&#x20AC;?

Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; technical expertise has served him well in managing the Planetarium. They have had the same projection system since before he arrived in 1987.

An agreement for the production of an epic planetarium program to accompany the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1998 cultural exposition, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Splendors of Versailles,â&#x20AC;? led to the addition of new projection equipment to the Planetarium and to the production of some of the most highly acclaimed shows ever screened in its theater.

Now, 34 years on, The Russell C. Davis Planetarium stands as a reminder for the citizens of Jackson that if you ever want to experience the truly awe-inspiring vastness of the universe, all you have to do is to drive downtown.

Join For Free!

201 E Pascagoula St Jackson, MS 39201 601.960.1550

No Contract â&#x20AC;˘ 24/7 Access

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The Nontraditional Wedding

W

VIRGINIA SCHREIBER

hy settle for a traditional wedding if you desire to go outside the box? If you’re a minimalist, nature lover or just plain spunky, incorporate distinctive elements to personalize your special day. “More couples are opting these days for untraditional weddings that reflect their own personalities and preferences,” writes Liz Pitts in “Planning Tips for Untraditional Weddings” on lifescript.com. “Embracing the notion that their wedding day is truly meant to be all about them, couples are getting creative and sometimes wild with the traditions surrounding matrimony.”

Unique wedding ideas can change anything about the traditional wedding, including the itinerary, style and dress. Here are a few ideas to inspire you as you plan your wedding.

• Uniqueness can be simple touches. Replace the usual veil with flowers. If you are saying your nuptials on the beach, pretty your toes and throw away the shoes.

• Consider light, pastel colors for the occasion instead of white or ivory. Think pale pink, light blue or mint green as the color for the dress of your dreams.

• Consider a playground ceremony if you are a kid at heart and love the outdoors.

A playground ceremony also allows accommodation for more than just adults. It might not fare well with adult guests, but the children are sure to have a blast—if they can stay focused on the bride and groom for the moment. A great example is Elizabeth and Eric’s handcrafted playground wedding at tinyurl.com/7yqmtt6.

Make your centerpiece unique, simple and colorful with clear glass and fruit.

Exposed: Outdoor Nuptials

30

• A summer-themed wedding is perfect if the season is right. Call it sunburst and use coordinating hues of red, yellow, orange and lime green.

The bride’s dress is not a traditional white or ivory, but bright ruby red that sparkles. Instead of throwing rice, guests can have fun blowing bubbles into the air.

Make the reception centerpiece a glass vase filled with fruit, and put a uniquely arranged centerpiece at each table: a mix of oranges, lemons, limes and strawberries in one vase, and in a different vase is a mix of apples, pears, lemons and cherries. Add a red-tinted sunflower, orange poppy or yellow marigold to top the centerpieces. Take a chance by entertaining your summer wedding guests with a live band playing summer tunes by Sly and the Family Stone, Billie Holiday, and Seals and Crofts.

• If you’re having a winter wedding, plan to woo your guests with splashes of blue and silver. Perhaps the wedding colors are royal blue, silver, white and smoky gray. The bride’s dress is silver, and the bridesmaids’ dresses are white, royal blue and gray. The centerpiece at the reception is made of pine cones, pecans and sticks spray-painted silver, blue, dove gray and white. Instead of oldies but goodies and new pop’s popular sounds, play Christmas music.

• If a wedding ceremony is not ideal for you and your future life partner, elope. Deciding to elope can be just as memorable as a lavish, expensive ceremony. It saves money, and then after the honeymoon, invite family and friends to share in the after-celebration. “Come home, announce the news and have a fabulous reception,” catalog.com says.

by Tam Curley

lowed. If you choose an evening event, you your dream wedding includes wedding can start as early as 5 p.m. and must be out vows under oak trees, Luckett Lodge can no later than 10 p.m. conveniently provide that with seating for Heart of Pines Inn (369 Fannin up to 500 guests. Rental and full-service Landing Circle, Brandon, 601829-0385, heartofpines.com) is a beautiful home built in 1902 and renovated in 2000. Renting this location for $3,000 includes the home and its outdoor areas for a full day of set-up, the next day’s ceremony and clean up by 10 a.m. the day after. Also included in the price are bridal photos, taken prior to the wedding ceremony. You may choose to use an outside catered, or the Heart of Pines Inn will bid for great outdoors can be the perfect setting for a catering services. If you love be- The beautiful scenic wedding ceremony. ing outdoors but want a bit of indoors, too, this is the ideal place to reserve for your wedding event. catering for an outdoor wedding is $750, Nestled among 150 acres of pine trees, it is and chair rental ranges from $2 to $3 a nature lover’s dream comes true. each, depending on the style of chair you Luckett Lodge (214 Clark Creek choose. The reception costs $6,000 and Road. Brandon, 601-829-2567, lucket- includes catering services, tables, linens, tlodge.com). Mississippi Magazine named place settings and staffing. this venue “one of 10 best places to have Mynelle Gardens (4736 Clinton an outdoor wedding in Mississippi.” If Blvd., 601-960-1894, city.jackson.ms.us/

ANDREW MORRELL

Apri 4 - 10, 2012

D

o you want to be close to nature and incorporate trees, flowers, water or beautiful gazebos into your wedding ceremony or reception?

Location, indoors or outdoors, makes all the difference. You may choose a particular venue based on a set theme, seasonal temperatures, the number of invited guests and venue availability.

Mississippi might not quickly come to mind as the supreme place for outdoor weddings, but look around, and you may be surprised. Most couples choose to have an outdoor wedding because their guest list is too large to accommodate indoors, or they prefer the scenery and mild temperatures of nature to the closed walls and cold temperatures that buildings tend to have.

As you prepare for future nuptials, you may want to consider one of the following venues for your outdoor wedding.

Fairview Inn (734 Fairview St., 601948-3429, fairviewinn.com) offers a wedding package that includes hosting the ceremony and reception for a facility fee of $2,000. This fee covers two-and-a-half hours for the wedding and the reception.

The deck holds 200 people. Catering is done in-house and no outside catering is al-

by Tam Curley

visitors/mynellgardens) is a model place for flower admirers. Any bride interested in an outdoor botanical garden with winding pathways can rent this space for a small, intimate ceremony. The cost is $330 for two hours, and Mynelle Gardens will perfectly set the lawn with up to 75 white chairs.

A damage deposit of $150 is required.

Mynelle Gardens does not make date reservations; first come, first served only.

Wedding by Muse (403 Bradford Drive, Brandon, 601-992-1942, wedding bymuse.com) features outdoor water fountains, rose bushes and a gazebo. The facility rental can be indoors, outdoors or include both. Venue rental is $1,500 for one full day, but guests must be out no later than 11 p.m. Weddings by Muse can accommodate up to 500 guests, but if you are looking to accommodate a more intimate guest size of 75-150, housekeeping will clean up for you and your guests once the event is over. Ask about the catering options to choose a menu for the perfect reception feast. Catering is priced according to the number of attendees.

Do you know of other perfect outdoor wedding venues? Add more by commenting at www.jfp.ms.

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Baseballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Loss, Musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gain

by Robyn Jackson

C

arl Jackson was just 14 years old when he got his big break in the music business. The Louisville, Miss., native was jamming backstage following a Virginia Boys concert in 1967 when he so impressed the musicians with his guitar and banjo playing that bluegrass legends Jim and Jesse McReynolds asked him to join the band. He hit the road and never looked back.

Jackson started playing banjo when he was 8 years old, inspired by his father and uncles, who had a bluegrass band called the Country Partners. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was part of it by the time I was 10,â&#x20AC;? he said in a telephone interview from his home in Gallatin, Tenn. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My mom was a really good singer. It really set me on fire. All I wanted to do was play musicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or baseball. The music fell into my lap quicker. That was my dreamâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to play music or centerfield for the New York Yankees.â&#x20AC;?

Baseballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loss was musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gain. Jackson has crafted a stellar career as a musician, songwriter and producer over the past five decades. His song, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Little Mountain Church House,â&#x20AC;? earned the 1990 International Bluegrass Music Association song of the

Congratulations on the Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Award.

Were you surprised when you got the news?

I guess surprised would be a good word. Honored would

be a better word. To be honored by the state of Mississippi means more to me than I can say. I love coming home. My father still lives in Louisville. I come down a lot during football season; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a big Ole Miss fan.

How did your parents feel about letting you hit the road when you were only 14?

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure there was some hesitancy. The first trip we went on, I was gone for two weeks. I was one homesick little boy.

I can still see my sister crying. But Jim and Jesse were good people, and I guess my parents knew Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be OK. Are you still close to Glen Campbell?

Very closeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Glen and his whole family. I introduced Glen to his wife. He credits her with saving his life. His daughter, Ashley, is my goddaughter.

Glen recently revealed that he has Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease. How is he doing?

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing good. He remembers me. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget his lyrics or guitar parts. But Glenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got a smile on his face all the time. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful. He still sings great, he plays great. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s living one day at a time, and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s living it well. I went to dinner with him a few weeks ago.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve worked with pretty much every country and bluegrass star. Do you ever marvel about your career and the legends you worked with?

When you stop long enough to think about it, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overwhelming. But when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing it, you do take it for granted.

Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blessed me so much. I read that bio (on carljackson.net) and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing to me sometimes. You just do it, and you try to take pictures. I wish weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d had iPhones when I started.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your latest project? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mark Twain: Words and Music.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the life story of Mark Twain. Clint Eastwood narrates it, and Jimmy Buffett is Huck Finn. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to raise funds for the Mark Twain Boyhood Home in Hannibal, Mo. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a double CD, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s available on amazon.com, the museum website (marktwainmuseum.org) and at Cracker Barrel.

RICHARD COUPE

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Men of Influenceâ&#x20AC;? is on display through April 8.

jacksonfreepress.com

Carl Jackson put his passion into music with stellar results.

year award, and Vince Gillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rendition of Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ballad â&#x20AC;&#x153;No Future in the Pastâ&#x20AC;? won country song of the year for 1993. He won his first Grammy in 1992 for his album â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spring Trainingâ&#x20AC;? and two Grammys in 2003 for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Livinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Lovinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Losinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Songs of the Louvin Brothers.â&#x20AC;? The projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s duet, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The World Treating You,â&#x20AC;? featuring James Taylor and Alison Krauss, also won a Grammy. He has also won a Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association, and in 2006 he was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.

After five years with the Virginia Boys, Jackson joined the Sullivan Family for a short time before forming The Country Store with Jimmy Gaudreau, Bill Rawlins and the late Keith Whitley. Whitley and Jackson attended a concert by Glen Campbell at the Ohio State Fair, and ran into Campbellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s banjo player, Larry McNeely. After a jam session, McNeely told Jackson he was tired of touring and asked if he wanted the job. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Glen Campbell Good Time Hourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (TV series) was huge when I was in high school,â&#x20AC;? Jackson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was already on the road. My classmates signed my yearbook saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;See you on Glen Campbell someday.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The next thing I know, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sitting in front of Glen Campbell; he hired me on the spot.â&#x20AC;?

Jackson spent 12 years touring with Campbell, who called him â&#x20AC;&#x153;the greatest banjo player in the world.â&#x20AC;?

He eventually left to record several albums of his own.

He also produced, played with and wrote songs for the biggest names in country and bluegrass music. Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resume includes a Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Who list of Nashville legends, from Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton to Garth Brooks, Hank Williams Jr., Brad Paisley and dozens more.

On Dec. 26, 2011, Mississippi placed a Country Music Trail Marker highlighting Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career in Louisville, near the historic Strand Theatre, where he performs his annual â&#x20AC;&#x153;Home For Christmasâ&#x20AC;? concert each December. Not only did Jackson watch movies there when he was a boy, he was born on the third floor, which housed a clinic in 1953.

Mississippi honored Jackson Feb. 16, when he received one of the 2012 Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.

33

BEST BETS April 4 - 11, 2012

by Latasha Willis events@jacksonfreepress.com Fax: 601-510-9019 Daily updates at jfpevents.com

WEDNESDAY 4/4

KEN HOWARD/METROPOLITAN OPERA

The Parents for Public Schools Lunch Bunch is at 11:45 a.m. at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.), in the Community Meeting Room. RSVP. $5 lunch; call 601-969-6015, ext. 320. … Novelist Howard Bahr speaks during History Is Lunch at noon at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.).

Bring lunch; call 601-576-6998. … John Mora performs at Papitos from 6-9 p.m. … Club Magoo’s has Open-mic Night at 8 p.m. … Dreamz JXN hosts Wasted Wednesday. … Bill and Temperance perform at Underground 119. …

The Med Grill hosts Battle of the Bands at 9 p.m. … The Wild and Out Wednesday Comedy Show at West Restaurant and Lounge is at 8:45 p.m. $2. … Philip’s on the Rez has karaoke with DJ Mike. … Hunter and Rick perform at Fitzgerald’s. … Pelican Cove hosts Open-mic Night.

FRIDAY 4/6

KidFest! kicks off at 9 a.m. at Freedom Ridge Park (235 W. School St., Ridgeland); continues through April 7 and April 14-15. $10, children under 2 free; call 601-8532011. … The nonviolence concert in honor of Nolan Ryan Henderson is at 5 p.m. at F. Jones Corner. Performers include Jesse Robinson, PyInfamous and the Bailey Brothers.

Free. … Luke Bryan and Jerrod Niemann perform at 7:30 p.m. at the Mississippi Coliseum. $29.50-$39.50; call 800745-3000. … Wine, Women and Wisdom kicks off at 8 p.m. at Yellow Scarf (741 Harris St., Suite E) with performances from Rhonda Richmond and Tawanna Shaunte. Cassandra Wilson and Mystic Warriors perform April 7 at 9 p.m. $25 April 6, $35 April 7, $50 both nights; call 866-308-9226. …

TTOCCS REKARP Productions hosts the Free Form Concert at 9 p.m. at The Commons. Performers include daniel johnson and Jonathan Sims. $5; call 601-352-3399 or 601-540-1267.

SATURDAY 4/7

The Hoops for Hope Basketball Tournament is at 9 a.m. at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.) in T.B. Ellis Gymnasium. Proceeds benefit the Capitol Street Boys & Girls Club. $5, $3 children ages 4-17, children under 4 free; call 601-969-3511. … Easter options for children include Hop Around the Welty Porch at 10 a.m. at the Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive; $8, children under 12 months and members free; call 601-981-5469), an Easter egg hunt at 10 a.m. at Liberty Park (694 Liberty Road, Flowood; free; call 601-992-4440) and an Easter egg hunt at noon at Battlefield Park (953 Porter St.; free; call 601-9600655). … The opera simulcast of “Manon” is at 11 a.m. at Tinseltown (411 Riverwind Drive, Pearl). $22, $20 seniors, $15 children; call 601-936-5856. … Burn the Dance Floor at Salsa Mississippi (605 Duling Ave.) includes free dance classes at 6 p.m. and a salsa party at 10 p.m. $10, $5 with college ID; call 601-213-6355. … Tougaloo College’s Two Rivers Gala is at 7 p.m. at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.) at the Thad Cochran Center. Eric Benet headlines the show. $100; call 601-977-7871 or 800-745-3000. … Brian Fuente, Shelly Fairchild and Jason Turner perform at 8 p.m. at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.); cocktails at 6:30 p.m. $12 in Anna Netrebko stars in the Metropolitan Opera’s simulcast of “Manon” April 7 at 11 a.m. at Tinseltown.

April 4 - 10, 2012

Fondren After 5 is from 5-8 p.m. Free; call 601981-9606. … See Belhaven University’s “The Collective” exhibit through April 8 at the Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). Free; call 601-960-1557. … See the simulcast of “Rascal Flatts: Changed” at 7 p.m. at Tinseltown (411 Riverwind Drive, Pearl). $11.50, $10.50 seniors and students, $9.50 children; call 601-936-5856. … The Mississippi Braves play against the Mobile Bay Bears at 7 p.m. at Trustmark Park (1 Braves Way, Pearl.). $8-$12; call 800-745-3000; game schedule at mississippibraves.com. ... Snazz performs during Ladies Night/Men Are Pigs Night at Bourbon St. in the Quarter. … The D’lo Trio plays at Cherokee Inn. … The 34 Amazin’ Lazy Boi Band performs at F. Jones Corner.

SUNDAY 4/8

Andy Hardwick performs during Fitzgerald’s 11 a.m. brunch. … See the independent film “Detachment” starring Adrien Brody at 5 p.m. at Russell C. Davis Planetarium. $7; visit msfim.org. … Mike and Marty’s Jam Session is at Hot Shots. … Eddie Cotton performs at The Med Grill at 6 p.m.

MONDAY 4/9

International Week 2012 kicks off at noon at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.) and runs through April 13. Visit www.jsums.edu/intweek. … The Central Mississippi Blues Society Jam is at 7 p.m. at Hal & Mal’s. $5.

TUESDAY 4/10

The Belhaven Theatre Festival at Belhaven University (1500 Peachtree St.) is today through April 14. Admission varies, some events free; call 601-965-7026 for show times. …

MSU art professor Brent Funderburk speaks during the Still Curious? Lecture Series at 6 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Free; call 601-960-1515.

WEDNESDAY 4/11

Israel Martinez of LABA-Link speaks at the Jackson 2000 Luncheon at noon at the Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). $12, $10 members; email bevelyn_branch@ att.net to RSVP. … Archaeologist Edward Henry speaks during History Is Lunch at noon at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Bring lunch; call 601-576-6998. … Time Out hosts Open-mic Night.

More at jfpevents.com and jfp.ms/musicvenues.

George Porter (below) and Runnin’ Pardners perform April 7 at 9 p.m. at Underground 119.

MICHAEL WEINTROB

THURSDAY 4/5

advance, $15 at the door; call 601-292-7121 or 800-745-3000. … OutSpoken is the featured poet during Nameless Open-mic at 9 p.m. at Suite 106. $5, $3 to perform; call 601-720-4640. … George Porter and the Runnin’ Pardners perform at 9 p.m. at Underground 119. … Dax Riggs is at Hal & Mal’s.

jfpevents JFP-SPONSORED EVENTS

Crossroads Film Festival April 13-15, at Malco Grandview Theatre (221 Grandview Blvd., Madison). Enjoy dozens of independent films and workshops at the three-day event. Discounts available for members, seniors and students. $8 film block, $20 one-day pass, $59 all-access pass; call 601345-5674; visit crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

Sante South Wine Festival April 14, 6:30 p.m., at The South (627 E. Silas Brown St.). Sample dozens of fine wines and gourmet food. The VIP tasting is at 6:30 p.m., and the grand tasting is at 7:30 p.m.

Proceeds benefit the Alzheimer’s Association of Mississippi. $125 VIP tasting, $80 grand tasting; call 601-987-0020.

HOLIDAY Hop Around the Welty Porch April 7, 10 a.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive). Children enjoy hopping, crafts and an Easter egg hunt. $8, children under 12 months and members free; call 601-981-5469 or 877-793-5437.

Flowood Easter Egg Hunt April 7, 10 a.m., at Liberty Park (694 Liberty Park Drive, Flowood). Enjoy an egg hunt, games and prizes. For ages 10 and under. Free; call 601-992-4440.

City of Jackson Easter Egg Hunt April 7, noon, at Battlefield Park (953 Porter St.). The Department of Parks and Recreation is the host. Bring a bag or basket; early arrival encouraged. Free; call 601-960-0655.

COMMUNITY Events at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.).

• Adult Summer Softball League Registration through April 6. Register at the Department of Parks and Recreation weekdays from 8 a.m.5 p.m. Games begin April 16. $350 per team; call 601-960-0471.

• Parents for Public Schools Lunch Bunch April 4, 11:45 a.m., in the Community Meeting Room. The topic is Ask for More Arts, a schoolcommunity-arts partnership. RSVP. $5 lunch; call 601-969-6015, ext. 320.

• Dropout Prevention Town Hall Meeting April 5, 6 p.m., in the Community Room.

Participants discuss strategies to keep children in school. Dinner and door prizes included. Free; call 601-948-4725.

Events at Pearl Public Library (2416 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). Free; call 601-932-2562.

• Computer Class For Adults April 5, 10 a.m.

Learn the basics of computers.

• Jackson Astronomical Society Meeting April 5, 6 p.m. Anyone interested in astronomy or space science is welcome to attend.

• Paw Pals April 7, 10:30 a.m. Read stories to therapy dogs.

“History Is Lunch” April 4, noon, at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Novelist Howard Bahr presents “Anti-Romanticism in Historical Fiction.” Bring lunch; coffee and water provided. Free; call 601-576-6998.

Community Forum on Economic Justice April 4, 7:30 p.m., at Tougaloo College (500 W. County Line Road, Tougaloo), in Holmes Hall. The theme

April 6 & 7 | 9:00pm “Stop the Violence” is in memory of JSU student Nolan Ryan Henderson, left, killed March 25.

Come Together Musician and Jackson State University student Andrew Dillon felt a hole in his heart growing during the induction ceremony for the university’s new president, Carolyn Meyers, last Friday. That hole was because of Nolan Ryan Henderson III, who was murdered March 24 allegedly at the hands of his cousin.

“It hurts me that no one can tell me why this kid was breathing two weeks ago, and now he’s not,” Dillon said, adding that he feels the community has not had an opportunity to fully grieve “one of its own.”

In Henderson’s memory, Dillon is coordinating a Stop the Violence Rally for Friday, April 6, at F. Jones Corner (303 N. Farish St., 601-983-1148). The free, family-friendly concert and rally will run from 5 to 10 p.m. outside on the patio.

Musicians and artists have always come together to make change, Dillon said. Confirmed performers for the concert include The Amazin Lazy Boi Band, Jesse Robinson, the Bailey Brothers, 5th Child, Scott Albert Johnson, PyInfamous and Kamikaze (aka Brad Franklin). To volunteer, perform or donate, call Dillon at 601-665-9684.

“I want there to be a time where we can recognize that we can do better,” he said.

—Ronni Mott

$10 Daily Lunch Specials Happy Hour Everyday 4p-7p

Late Night Happy Hour Sun - Thur, 10p - 12a

Daily Lunch Specials •April 2 -6

Includes: Dessert, Iced Tea, & tax. Take Out Orders are welcomed.

Mon | Shrimp Etouffee or Meatloaf Pie Tue | Peppersteak over Rice or Shrimp Scampi Wed | Roasted Pork Loin or Country Fried Steak Thu | Chicken & Bowtie Pasta or Ham, Cheese & Hash Brown Fri | Catfish Parmesan or Smoked Brisket

601.978.1839

6270 Old Canton Rd. Jackson, MS 39211

• Live Music Every Friday & Saturday Night NO COVER CHARGE! • $3 Bloody Mary’s & Mimosas Every Saturday & Sunday until 6pm 6791 Siwell Rd. Byram, MS • 601.376.0777 www.reedpierces.com

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is “Continuing the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.: From Civil Rights to Human Rights and Economic Justice.” Speakers include Safiya Omari of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Mississippi NAACP Director Derrick Johnson and Jackson City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba. Free; call 601-353-4455.

Precinct 1 COPS Meeting April 5, 6 p.m., at Jackson Police Department, Precinct 1 (810 Cooper Road). These monthly forums are designed to help resolve community issues or problems, from crime to potholes. Call 601-960-0001.

Millsaps Forum April 6, 12:30 p.m., at Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.), in room 215. Author and Mellon Fellow Drew A. Swanson talks about efforts to preserve colonial history and coastal wetlands in the South. Free; call 601-974-1305.

KidFest! April 6-7, at Freedom Ridge Park (235 W. School St., Ridgeland). The family event includes more EVENTS, page 37

jacksonfreepress.com

Jackson 2000 Luncheon April 11, 11:45 a.m., at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). The speaker is Israel Martinez, vice president of the Latin American Business Association (LABA-Link). RSVP. $12, $10 members; email bevelyn_branch@att.net.

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TWITTER

Fondren After 5 April 5, 5 p.m. This monthly event showcases the local shops, galleries and restaurants of the Fondren neighborhood. Free; call 601-981-9606.

35

A M A LC O T H E AT R E

South of Walmart in Madison

ALL STADIUM SEATING Listings for Fri. Apr. 6- Thurs. Apr. 12 2012 American Reunion

R

John Carter (non 3-D) PG13

PG13

A Thousand Words PG13

3-D Wrath Of The Titans PG13

3-D Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax PG

Wrath Of The Titans (non 3-D) PG13

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (non 3-D) PG

3-D Titanic

Mirror Mirror

PG13

The Hunger Games PG13 October Baby

PG13

DIVERSIONS| films

A Darker Oz

Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds PG13 Act Of Valor Journey 2 (non 3-D) Safe House

R PG R

21 Jump Street R

GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE DAILY BARGAINS UNTIL 6PM Online Tickets, Birthday Parties, Group & Corporate Events @ www.malco.com

Movieline: 355-9311

Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everett, and Liam Hemsworth is Gale Hawthorne in the dystopian film “The Hunger Games.”

“T

he Hunger Games” portrays a futuristic nightmare where indentured masses, working in 12 districts, feed and entertain a parasitic society. The powers-that-be leech anything of consumptive value from the districts and hover-craft it into the Capitol, the central city of Panem.

Opulence and garish colors define the Capitol’s finest residents. Their over-indulgence and false laughter linger in a thick muggy atmosphere of spoiled privilege. In contrast, the districts are monochromatic and bleak. White-uniformed peacekeepers patrol the streets and punish even the slightest whiff of non-conformity.

During the annual reaping, each district sacrifices two tributes, a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18, for the Hunger Games, a mishmash of “American Idol,” “Survivor” and the Olympics. The big event is held in the Capitol, and no words convey less goodwill than wishing a tribute a “happy Hunger Game.” All but one will die.

Maybe it’s the freakishly dyed and poofed hair of the TV personalities hosting the games, but there’s a bit of dystopian Oz going on in Gary Ross’ film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling novel. But then, when you really think about it, Oz may have been in Technicolor, but it was definitely a creepy place. Dorothy was no saint, having killed her opponent (the Wicked Witch of the West) to get back home.

An Apocalyptic Dorothy?

JACKSON MISSISSIPPI

April 4 - 10, 2012

FILMS 36

by Anita Modak-Truran

COURTESY LIONSGATE

6A0=3E84F

WORKSHOPS

MUSIC CROSSROADSFILMFESTIVAL.COM

Old promotional materials for “The Wizard of Oz” describe Dorothy as an “innocent farm girl whisked out of her mundane earthbound existence into a land of pure imagination.” Dorothy’s journey takes her to emerald forests, yellow brick roads and creepy castles. Killer monkeys try to stop her, but fail. Dorothy takes out not one, but two evil witches who threaten the little people of Oz. Add some songs, a tin man, a scarecrow and a lion, and you have a classic.

Leap into the future, after war has ravaged the United States and led to the creation of Panem. There you find Katniss Everett (Jennifer Lawrence). She is an innocent coal-

miner’s daughter whisked out of her hard existence into a game of pure imagination, where she must kill or be killed in a reality show engineered with emerald-green forests and genetically modified killer wasps with psychotropic stings. Katniss’ aim with a bow and arrow is as spot on as Dorothy’s with a whirling, dervish house or a bucket of cold water.

Like Dorothy, Katniss has supporters to accompany her on her journey. She’s got a drunken coach (Woody Harrelson), an image creator (Lenny Kravitz) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), the male tribute from District 12, who has a heart, brains and courage.

No Place Like Home

Under Ross’ direction, from a script written by Ross, Collins and Billy Ray, “The Hunger Games” sets two points of view in opposition. The Capitol seems lush and appealing, but a sickness lurks in the abundance. As the movie progresses, the initial shine wears to the dark unpleasant woods of the games, where children murder other children. Home, no matter how bleak and desperate, is where people who matter live, and every single one of the tributes wants to return home.

While a tornado brings Dorothy to Oz, whipping camera frenzy escorts Katniss and Peeta to the Capitol and the games. Ross uses the “tornado effect”—the ultimate shaky cam—liberally. The tribute selection process in District 12 voraciously swirls from one image to the next. The fight scenes barely register on the eye, because the blur distorts the action.

However, the stellar performances of Lawrence, Hutcherson and the rest of an impressive cast push the weaknesses in Ross’ mise en scene to the back.

Lawrence, in particular, grounds the absurdity of the film into an emotional experience. The scene where mocking jays sing after Katniss buries Rue—one of the young tributes from an agricultural district with hints of the Deep South—is exquisite. I only wish the film had more scenes like that.

I enjoyed the film, but found it about as satisfying as a bag of salty popcorn. Post-movie, only music by T-Bone Burnett and James Newton Howard resonated.

jfpevents

from page 35

big-top acts, a children’s activity tent, music, food, animated characters and rides. $10, children under 2 free; call 601-853-2011.

COURTESY JSU

Jackson Audubon Society First Saturday Bird Walk April 7, 8 a.m., at Mayes Lake at LeFleur’s Bluff (115 Lakeland Terrace). An experienced Audubon Society member leads the walk. Bring binoculars, water, insect repellent and a snack. Call ahead if you would like to borrow a pair of binoculars. Adults must accompany children under 15.

Free, $3 car entrance fee; call 601-956-7444.

Gathering on the Green April 7, 10 a.m., at Old Capitol Museum (100 S. State St.). Enjoy music, food, crafts and other festivities on the historic Old Capitol Green. Free admission; call 601-576-6920.

JSU International Week

Burn the Dance Floor April 7, 6 p.m., at Salsa Mississippi Studio and Club (605 Duling Ave.). Enjoy a free rumba class at 6 p.m., ballroom dancing from 7-9 p.m., a free salsa class at 9 p.m. and a salsa party from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. $10, $5 with college ID; call 601-213-6355.

This is the 22nd year that Jackson State University will devote five days to celebrating cultural diversity and promoting education about other countries. From April 9 through April 13, the university’s Division of International Studies presents International Week with events designed to promote cultural awareness.

Patricia Jernigan, an event organizer, said this year, International Week will focus on Africa. “Because we do have a large contingent of students from Africa within the university,” she said, organizers decided to focus on the whole continent instead of picking just one country.

Events for the week include films, food, dance and a bazaar. A peace conference and symposium will include topics about African countries, Jernigan said, and a model United Nations will discuss issues in Syria and Sudan. Reuben E. Brigety II, deputy assistant secretary of state, is the featured speaker for the International Scholarship and Awards Banquet April 13. Brigety supervises U.S. refugee programs for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration in Africa and manages humanitarian diplomacy, among other things.

All events are open to the public, and many are free. Tickets for the banquet are $50 each or $500 for a table. For more information, visit jsums.edu/intweek or call 601-979-3796.

—Elizabeth Waibel

Two Rivers Gala April 7, 7 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.), at the Thad Cochran Center. The scholarship fundraiser for Tougaloo College includes food, music, and comedy. Performers include Eric Benet, Eddie Cotton and the Cotton Club, Calico Panache, the Mo’ Money Band featuring Henry Rhode, D. Scott, Thomas “Tiger” Rogers, comedian Steve Brown, Jesse Primer, and Doug and Melvin Williams. $100; call 601-977-7871 or 800-745-3000.

International Week 2012 April 9-13, at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.). Events include the opening ceremony and the International Taste of JSU April 10, the parade of flags April 11, the International Peace Conference and Symposium on International Issues April 10-13 and the International Scholarship and Awards Banquet April 10.

More at jsums.edu/intweek. $50 banquet, other events free; call 601-979-3796.

W.I.N.E. (Women Inquiring, Networking and Engaging) Meeting April 9, 6:30 p.m., at the home of deborah Rae Wright (135 Grand Ave.). Attendees meet to discuss a chosen topic. Bring wine or a snack. RSVP. Email winejackson@gmail.com.

WELLNESS Poker Run through Oct. 10, at Fleet Feet Sports (Trace Station, 500 Highway 51 N., Ridgeland), on second Wednesdays at 6 p.m. Participants receive five playing cards during the three-mile run/walk, and the people with the best hand and worst hand win prizes. After-party at Cazadores (500 Highway 51, Suite R, Ridgeland). Free; call 601-899-9696.

FARMERS MARKETS

Old Fannin Road Farmers Market (1307 Old Fannin Road, Brandon). Open from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Dec. 24. Call 601-919-1690.

Byram Farmers Market (20 Willow Creek Lane, Byram). Open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m.6 p.m. through Oct. 31. Call 601-373-4545.

Old Farmers Market (352 E. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). Open Monday-Saturday from 7:30 a.m.5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Oct. 31. Call 601-354-0529 or 601353-1633.

STAGE AND SCREEN Events at Tinseltown (411 Riverwind Drive, Pearl).

Call 601-936-5856.

• “Rascal Flatts: Changed” April 5, 7 p.m. The simulcast of the band’s performance includes

exclusive footage, interviews and a Q&A session. $11.50, $10.50 seniors and students, $9.50 children.

• “Manon” April 7, 11 a.m. The Metropolitan Opera presents the simulcast of Massenet’s opera starring Anna Netrebko. $22, $20 seniors, $15 children.

A Night of Hope April 6, 7 p.m., at The Church Triumphant (Odyssey North, 731 S. Pear Orchard Road, Suite 43, Ridgeland). The music and dance showcase includes performances from Thomas “Tiger” Rogers, Anointed by God 4 TRU Worship and Sam-U-El. Free; call 601-977-0007.

The Love and Laughter Show April 6, 8 p.m., at Vicksburg Convention Center (1600 Mulberry St., Vicksburg). Performers include Silk, D. Ellis, Lady Mozan and Q the Comedian. For ages 21 and older. $23; call 800-745-3000.

more EVENTS, page 39

jacksonfreepress.com

Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St.).

Open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 15.

Call 601-354-6573.

37

DIVERSIONS|books

Running for Their Lives

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ith his first book, Mississippian Bobby Cole delivers a fast-paced thriller that pits a man and his daughter against a group of truly sadistic thugs in a night-long wilderness chase.

The strength of the book comes from Coleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s background in hunting and the outdoors. While he may not set a scene with the same detail as Ernest Hemingway or Stephen King, his intimacy with nature easily shines through his words.

Likewise, this same knowledge provides a comfortable setting in which the author has little trouble moving along a story that is sometimes complicated and bogged down by multiple points of view and a crowded field of characters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Dummy Lineâ&#x20AC;?

(AmazonEncore, 2011, $14.95) revolves around Jake Crosby, a husband and father fascinated by and proud of his 9-year-old daughterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budding love of the outdoors. Jakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife does not share their enthusiasm, but Jake takes young Katy on a turkey hunt he hopes will provide some father-daughter bonding time.

The story kicks into higher gear with the emergence of a group of thugs, to put it politely, who happen upon the hunting camp and decide it looks like a good place to burgle.

Seeing themselves as ruthless career criminals, the gang gets excited when they discover the Crosbysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; trailer. What they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bargain on is Jake fighting back.

What ensues for Jake and Katy is a nightlong run for their lives as the criminals chase them in a revenge-fueled tirade.

Jake and Katy rescue another teenage girl from the same group of thugs, all while the hapless authorities flail through the night in a sad attempt to rescue them.

For the most part, this is an excellent read. The plot is tremendous, and Cole does COURTESY AMAZONENCORE

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by Sam Hall

a great job of keeping readers in the moment.

This is a testament to the author, because he writes from just about every point of view.

Granted, so many viewpoints can get complicated, especially given Coleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tendency to write in short chapters and switch points of view often. However, Cole handles this fairly well.

The grit and brutality of the book will keep readers moving forward, too. Cole provides his story with â&#x20AC;&#x153;bad guysâ&#x20AC;? who are ruthless, mean and seemingly devoid of any moral fiber. While he could have easily turned them into caricatures, he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Like the other characters, they are well formed and fleshed out.

This is not to say that â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Dummy Lineâ&#x20AC;? is without fault. While Cole provides ample background for his characters, sometimes he does it at the expense of the story. Some characters just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need the exposition. At times, the dialogue is stilted and trite but, again, the action helps move the reader past it. None of that was enough of a distraction to pull me out of the moment.

The only real distraction was the ineptness of the deputies, which bordered on unbelievable, though this is clearly a device to allow for more action. Without the hapless law enforcement, this book would have been short.

Overall, Cole has provided readers with a thrilling novel. I was hesitant when I read the synopsis, because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m generally not a fan of â&#x20AC;&#x153;killer chases good guy through the woodsâ&#x20AC;? stories.

However, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Dummy Lineâ&#x20AC;? worked, and worked well. Between the hard choices of a father determined to save his daughter and the hell-bent low-lives determined to kill them, readers will have little timeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or careâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to do anything but sit back and enjoy the ride.

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jfpevents

ES - O - TER - I - CA:

from page 37

Nameless Open-mic April 7, 9 p.m., at Suite 106 (106 Wilmington St.). OutSpoken is the featured poet. Poets, singers, actors and comedians are welcome. $5 admission, $3 to perform; call 601720-4640.

A Mississippi Homecoming April 7, 8 p.m., at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). Brian Fuente, Shelly Fairchild and Jason Turner perform. Cocktails at 6:30 p.m. $12 in advance, $15 at the door; call 601-292-7121 or 800-745-3000.

Art House Cinema Downtown April 8, 5 p.m., at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). See the film “Detachment” starring Adrien Brody. Refreshments sold. $7; visit msfilm.org.

CREATIVE CLASSES

Belhaven Theatre Festival April 10-14, at Belhaven University (1500 Peachtree St.). The series of theatrical events includes featured guest artists, student performances, staged readings, senior recitals, class showcases, workshops and presentations. Call for show times. Admission varies for featured performances, other events free; call 601-965-7026.

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS “Alligator Lake” April 11, 5 p.m., at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N.). Lynne Bryant signs books; reading at 5:30 p.m. $15 book; call 601-366-7619.

Break the Binding Book Club April 9, 6 p.m., at Pearl Public Library (2416 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). The club is for teens age 12 and up. The featured title is “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Refreshments served. Call 601-932-2562.

MUSIC Mississippi Happening at Pizza Shack, Colonial Mart (5046 Parkway Drive, Suite 6). On second and fourth Tuesdays from 7-9 p.m., Guaqueta Productions provides performances and interviews featuring musicians, poets, artists, dancers, business leaders and nonprofits. Download podcasts at mississippihappening.com. Call 601-497-7454.

Resurrection Concert April 6, 7 p.m., at Wayside Fountain of Blessings (931 Highway 80 W., Suite 2C-60). The Revelations, Anthony Cornish and Greg Irving. Free; call 601-454-6026.

Luke Bryan April 6, 7:30 p.m., at Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.). The country singersongwriter performs to promote his album “Tailgates and Tanlines.” Jerrod Niemann also performs. $29.50-$39.50; call 800-745-3000.

Wine, Women and Wisdom April 6-7, at Yellow Scarf (741 Harris St., Suite E). Rhonda Richmond and Tawanna Shaunte perform April 6 at 8 p.m., and Cassandra Wilson and Mystic Warriors perform April 7 at 9 p.m. Also see Thabi Moyo’s photography exhibit, “Big Easy Kitchen.” $25 April 6, $35 April 7, $50 both nights; call 866-308-9226.

Free Form Concert April 6, 9 p.m., at The Commons at Eudora Welty’s Birthplace (719 N. Congress St.). TTOCCS REKARP Productions hosts the concert featuring 14 musicians doing improvised performances including Jamie Weems, Scott Albert Johnson, daniel johnson and Jonathan Sims. $5; call 601-352-3399 or 601-540-1267.

Shut Up and Write! Sign up for one of Donna Ladd’s new creative non-fiction class series. Only 11 seats a class! Starts at $50 for one-day workshops up to $150 for the six-class series. Email class@jacksonfreepress.com or call 601-362-6121, ext. 15.

Adult Art Class for Beginners April 5-26, at Fondren Art Gallery (601 Duling Ave.). Richard McKey teaches basic painting and drawing Thursdays from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Materials included. Limit of six students. $250, $150 previous students; call 601-981-9222.

A collection of items of a special, rare, novel or unusual quality. We are Mississippi’s premiere source for metaphysical esoterica from nature.

Featuring: Natural Crystals Specimens • Pendulums Books • Wands • Moldavite Jewelry & More National Natural Landmark

601-879-8189 124 Forest Park Rd., Flora, MS www.MSPetrifiedForest.com

Titanic Dinner Party Class April 7, 5 p.m., at Viking Cooking School (Township at Colony Park, 1107 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland). Learn to make gourmet dishes such as lobster Thermidor, chocolate éclairs and shrimp canapés. $119; call 601-898-8345.

Creative Writing Workshops starting April 8, at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), in H.T. Sampson Library, third floor. The Nameless Poets of Jackson host the workshops Sundays at 3 p.m. Topics include settings, metaphors, character creation and description, and other literary devices.

Free; call 601-720-4640.

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS Events at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.), in Trustmark Grand Hall. Free; call 601-960-1515.

• Still Curious? Lecture Series April 10, 6 p.m.

Cash bar at 5:30 p.m. Brent Funderburk, Mississippi State University art professor, presents “Every Little Soul Must Shine: Walter Anderson’s Art for Children.”

• Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Exhibit through April 15. See works from students in grades 7-12. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdaySaturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.

Amy Paules and Amelia Key Senior Art Exhibition through April 11, at Belhaven University (1500 Peachtree St.), at Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center. See samples of photography, graphic design, painting and sculpture. Free; call 601-974-6478.

Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings.

To add an event, email all details (phone number, start and end date, time, street address, cost, URL, etc.) to events@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601510-9019. The deadline is noon the Thursday prior to the week of publication. Or add the event online yourself; check out jfpevents.com for instructions.

Public schools do more than educate children. They measure a city’s pride. They reflect community. They predict the social and economic well-being of a city’s future.

For 20 years, Parents for Public Schools of Jackson has worked to keep our public schools strong, to empower parents as leaders for positive change, and to engage community support of our public schools.

Join us. For our city. For our children.

For our future.

BE THE CHANGE Walk Against Fear 2012. The civil-rights march for immigrants ends April 7 at the Mississippi State Capitol (400 High St.). The marchers host immigrants’ rights workshops along the way. Email walk.against.fear.2012@gmail.com.

“Give Blood, Give Life” Blood Drive April 7, 10 a.m., at Mt. Vision Missionary Baptist Church (2533 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive). The youth department and Mississippi Blood Services are the hosts. Refreshments and giveaways included. Appointment required. Donations welcome; email ccartersmith@hotmail.com.

Warrior Dash Registration through April 9. The world’s largest running series involves racing on a 5K obstacle course April 21 at Mississippi Off Road Adventures (118 Elton Road). Races start every halfhour beginning at 8 a.m. Enjoy refreshments and music after the race. Register by April 9. Proceeds benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital. $70; visit warriordash.com.

Founding Chapter, Parents for Public Schools, 1989 200 N. Congress, Suite 500, Jackson, MS 39201

www.ppsjackson.org

jacksonfreepress.com

Hoops for Hope Basketball Tournament April 7, 9 a.m., at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), at T.B. Ellis Gymnasium. Registration is at 8 a.m. ($100 team). Proceeds benefit the Capitol Street Boys & Girls Club. $5, $3 children ages 4-17, children under 4 free; call 601-969-3511.

39

DIVERSIONS|music

44/##3 2%+!20´3 4OP 0LAYLIST

Home Boy Brian Fuente Back in Jackson ,

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by Jacob Fuller

Y TES UR CO F AN BRI

What did you learn from being on â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voice?â&#x20AC;?

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Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brian Fuente recently competed on NBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voice.â&#x20AC;? Now, he is touring in support of his first ever solo project.

R

idgeland native Brian Fuente moved to Nashville in 2007 to follow his dream of being a singer. Not long after his arrival, he started the rock band Newmatic and toured as the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frontman for four years.

Fuente caught the biggest break of his career in 2011 when he auditioned for the NBC talent show â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voice.â&#x20AC;? The singing competition features four judges: singers Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 Blake Shelton. Judges must choose singers for their teams based on blind auditions, during which the judges listen to the auditions with their backs turned, unable to

I learned a lot of confidence. I almost gave up on music before the show. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d been playing in Jackson for years prior to coming to Nashville. Then I went to school at Mississippi State. I was playing there. I had basically been performing since I was 14, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m 28 years old. For the longest time, I almost gave up. When I got on the show, it just rejuvenated me as an artist. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m doing music full-time now. I finally have the gumption to do what I want to do. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a great feeling.

What new doors has it opened?

I performed in front of millions of people, so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got thousands of new fans across the world. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funny, because other countries are really pretty avid â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voiceâ&#x20AC;? fans. So Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a lot of fans across the world.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had some industry people contact me. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funny how you get on a TV show and, all of a sudden, people want to listen to you. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got management now. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re about to record a record. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a solo project in my name. A lot of people who have heard about

me and heard my name are interested to see what I can do outside the show.

You just finished playing South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. What was that like?

South by Southwest is one of the craziest couple of weeks for this industry. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got what seems like thousands of bands that are down there. It was so cool to be playing my first solo show in Austin. ... (Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) just one hell of an opportunity for me. We had four shows.

I, unfortunately, did not get to see a lot of bands, because we were so busy. You go down there to network with all kinds of people.

The whole industry is compact in one area of town, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your chance to meet everybody and be out and be seen.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it like playing in Mississippi, compared to other places?

Well, I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t played Mississippi in years. So Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really looking forward to it.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m the only one from Mississippi that made it to â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voice,â&#x20AC;? and I think with all the press that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re getting, hopefully weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have a really good turnout. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just looking forward to coming back and playing in front of family and friends that I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t played in front of for years.

Fuenteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solo tour, featuring special guest Shelly Fairchild, includes three stops in Mississippi: Rickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cafe (319B Highway 182 E., Starkville, 662-323-7425) April 5 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $5 at the door or online at rickscafe. net; Duling Hall in Jackson (622 Duling Ave., 601-941-1432) April 7. Cocktails are at 7:30

TATE K NATIONS

see the competitors.

At the blind auditions, country singer Blake Shelton chose Fuente to join his team.

Fuente was eliminated from the show on March 5, though, when he lost his â&#x20AC;&#x153;battleâ&#x20AC;? with fellow competitor Jordis Unga.

These days, the soulful indie rocker is a spokesman for C Spire Wirelessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bright Lights Music, an online campaign that helps independent musicians get discovered. The Jackson Free Press caught up with Fuente as he was preparing for his upcoming tour.

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p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, which charges an additional $3.35 fee, or in person at the Mississippi Coliseum box office or Babalu Tacos and Tapas in Fondren, which only charge a 50-cent fee for cash purchases. Tickets will be $15 at the door.

The third show will be at the Gulfport Music Festival at Jones Park (2301 E. Beach Blvd., Gulfport, 228-388-2001). The threeday event is May 18-20 and features country artists Justin Moore and Gary Allan on Friday, hip-hop acts Rehab, Vanilla Ice, and Nelly and rock band Hinder on Saturday, and rockers Gym Class Heroes, Maroon 5 and Fuente on Sunday. Advance single-day passes are $50, $60 and $70, respectively. Advance weekend passes are $95 and VIP weekend passes are $299. All tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster. com or in person at the Mississippi Coliseum box office.

Natalieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Get Your Free Form On Notes

April 4 - 10, 2012

S

40

ix years ago, when W.C. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s was still open on South State Street next door to Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Restaurant and Lounge, a few Jackson-area musicians got together for what they thought would be just a night of jamming with good friends.

They dubbed the event Free Form, but had no setlist or any idea of what would take placeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or even if anyone would show up.

The event turned out to be wildly successful. Talk turned frequently to creating another Free Form music show, but nothing ever came to fruitionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;until now.

Daniel Guaquetaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a well-known drummer for bands such as TTOCCS REKARP, Hunter Gibson and The Gators, Billy and The Squids, and Storage 24â&#x20AC;&#x201D;helped create the Free Form Voice show for Friday, April 6 with band mate daniel johnson.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;My general idea behind wall of notes from every scale, every volthis performance is to get to the ume level and rhythm so intense that you essence of music, which is may have to sit down,â&#x20AC;? sound,â&#x20AC;? Guaqueta said in Guaqueta said. an email. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Music is only TTOCCS REKARP classified â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; because has an amazing lineup of the structure of notes of 14 A-list musicians and the theory behind it at this event performing in academia.â&#x20AC;? with electronics, drums, In organizing Free strings and percussion: Form Voice, Guaquâ&#x20AC;˘ Murph Caicedo from eta said that he wanted Spacewolf and A Bullet to bring together as many Harmonica player Scott Albert Well Spent is on drums. musicians as possible on Johnson is just one of the â&#x20AC;˘ Jamie Weems from one stage with as broad a talented musicians performing Strange Pilgrims is on elecrange of instruments and in Free Form Voice April 6. tric mandolin. musical devicesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from â&#x20AC;˘ Matthew Magee from harmonicas to turntablesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as possible.

Wooden Finger plays guitar, fiddle and â&#x20AC;&#x153;All these musicians will play togeth- other instruments. er without any preconceived idea of what â&#x20AC;˘ daniel johnson is on saxophone, turnto perform, therefore creating a massive tables and electronics.

SUSAN MARGARET BARRETT

by Natalie Long

â&#x20AC;˘ Jonathan Sims is on drums. â&#x20AC;˘ Loki from J-Tran is on electronics, bass, guitar and drums. â&#x20AC;˘ Melvin Priester will use electronics and turntables. â&#x20AC;˘ Scott Albert Johnson is on harmonica. â&#x20AC;˘ Curtis Lehr from Argiflex is on electronics and samplers. â&#x20AC;˘ Skyler Jordan is on guitar. â&#x20AC;˘ RC Kunz is on bass. â&#x20AC;˘ Jason Daniels from Furrows is on guitar. â&#x20AC;˘ Jesus Velazquez from LATINISMO! is on congas and percussion. â&#x20AC;˘ John Mark Coon of Questions in Dialect is on steel guitar, guitar, mandolin and other instruments.

Catch Free Form Voice April 6 at The Commons at Eudora Weltyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Birthplace (719 N. Congress St.). The show is for all ages, and the doors open at 8 p.m. The sounds begin at 9 p.m. The cost is $5.

DIVERSIONS|music

by Tam Curley

Silky Soul Brotha

WEDNESDAY

COURTESY DISCO BISCUITS

D

04/04

LIVE KARAOKE

LADIES Singer Eric BenĂŠt performs at the Two Rivers Gala, a benefit for Tougaloo College, April 7.

tolini, new baby, Lucia Bella, and a new label: Jordan House Records. He also has a new album, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The One,â&#x20AC;? featuring Lil Wayne, a duet with his 21-year-old daughter, India, and a lullaby dedicated to his youngest daughter.

I will never forget the smooth sounds of the love ballads BenĂŠt sings. He just loves everything about â&#x20AC;&#x153;the womanâ&#x20AC;? from her â&#x20AC;&#x153;chocolate legsâ&#x20AC;? to natural hair.

Eric BenĂŠt will perform at the 10th annual Two Rivers Gala, Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m. at the Thad Cochran Center inside the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., 601-982-8467). The event is a fundraiser for Tougaloo College and features food, music and comedy. Additional performers include Eddie Cotton, The Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Money Band featuring Henry Rhodes, D. Scott and Tiger Rogers, Steve Brown, Calico Panache, The Williams Brothers and Jessie Primer III. Tickets are $100. Visit tougaloo. edu/tworiversgala or call 601-977-7871.

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LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR ALL SHOWS 10PM UNLESS NOTED

Trancefusion Jamtronica

Disco Biscuits drummer Allen Aucoin (second from the right) hits town Friday as his alter ego, DrFameus.

Weekly Lunch Specials

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NIGHT

GUYS PAY $5, LADIES ENTER & DRINK FREE CATHEAD VODKA 9-10PM FRIDAY

$

9.99

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm Thursday

April 5

LADIES NIGHT

w/ DJ Stache

LADIES ENTER & DRINK FREE WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM Friday April 6

04/06

Dr.Featuring Fameus Allen Aucoin of Discuits

Furrows with Old You Saturday

April 7

The Bailey Brothers with

SATURDAY

04/07

Mike Dillon Band

The Only Sons Monday

April 9

PUB QUIZ 2-for-1 Drafts Tuesday

sponsored by

April 10

2-for-1 Beer Specials Highlife, Highlife Lite, PBR, Schlitz, Fatty Natty

Wednesday

April 11

KARAOKE Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Forget To Stop By Our

MID DAY CAFE Serving Lunch 11-2!

214 S. STATE ST. â&#x20AC;˘ 601.354.9712

DOWNTOWN JACKSON

WWW.MARTINSLOUNGE.NET

w/ DJ STACHE

FREE WiFi Open Mon-Sat, Restaurant open Mon-Fri 11 am-10 pm & Sat 4-10 pm

601-960-2700

facebook.com/Ole Tavern

jacksonfreepress.com

COURTESY ERIC BENĂ&#x2030;T

I

was nearly 20 years old when I first heard a song by Eric BenĂŠt. I still remember singing to the tune of the popular duo song by BenĂŠt and Tamiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;R&B beauty and superstarâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spend My Life with You.â&#x20AC;? It was No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard R&B charts for three weeks in 1999.

I have always enjoyed R&B, but BenĂŠtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s style, with its neo-soul feel, is unique. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like he has created his own genreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;more rhythm & smooth than rhythm & Blues.

BenĂŠt grew up in Milwaukee, Wis., the youngest of five children. In the 1980s, BenĂŠt, his sister Lisa and his cousin George Nash, Jr. formed a band called BenĂŠt.

Eric BenĂŠt went solo in 1994, signing with Warner Bros. Records. He released his debut solo album, â&#x20AC;&#x153;True to Myself,â&#x20AC;? in 1996. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spend My Life with Youâ&#x20AC;? was on his sophomore release, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Day in the Life.â&#x20AC;? The BenĂŠt/ Tamia duet proved to be a hit. The song was certified gold and nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.â&#x20AC;?

In 2001, BenĂŠt signed with a new record label, Friday Records, and in 2005 he released his third studio album, featuring the hit, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Wanna Be Loved.â&#x20AC;?

BenĂŠt was married to actress and 2002 Oscar winner Halle Berry from 2001 to 2005.

BenĂŠtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divorce did not stop him from producing good music. He released his fourth album, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Love and Life,â&#x20AC;? in 2008, and was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award for Best R&B Male Performance.

In November 2010, BenĂŠt released his fifth album titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lost in Timeâ&#x20AC;? featuring several duets. His single, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes I Cry,â&#x20AC;? reached No. 1 on the Hot Adult R&B Songs chart.

The singer has a new wife, Manuela Tes-

41

livemusic APRIL 4 - WEDNESDAY

THIS WEEK THURSDAY 4/5 Shaun Patterson (Restaurant)

FRIDAY 4/6 Swing de Paris (Restaurant) Southern Crossroads Tamale & Music Festival (RR) $5 cover

MONDAY 4/9 Blues Monday (restaurant)

TUESDAY 4/10 PUB QUIZ w/ Erin & friends (restaurant)

WEDNESDAY 4/11 New Bourbon Street Jazz Band (Restaurant)

Coming Soon

Now offering a full dinner menu. Now accepting reservations.

Wednesday,April 4th

BILL & TEMPERANCE

(Bluegrass) 8-11, No Cover

Thursday, April 5th

LISA MILLS

(Blues) 8-11, No Cover

Friday, April 6th

FEARLESS FOUR

(Funk) 9-1, $5 Cover before 8:30 $10 Cover after 8:30

Saturday, April 7th

GEORGE PORTER & RUNNINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; PARDNERS (New Orleans Funk) 9-1, $5 Cover before 8:30 $10 Cover after 8:30

FRI 4.13-15: Crossroads Film Festival

Tuesday, April 10rd

WED 4.18: Eilen Jewell & The Hackensaw Boys

(Blues) 6-11, $5 Cover

FRI 4.20: LawyerPalooza & Geeslin FRI 4.21: Beth McKee

Monday - Friday Blue Plate Lunch

JESSE ROBINSON Friday, April 13th

CHRIS GILL & THE SOLE SHAKERS

(Blues) 9-1, $5 Cover before 8:30 $10 Cover after 8:30

Saturday, April 14th

with corn bread and tea or coffee

$8

25

As well as the usual favorites!

Seafood Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice, Burgers, Fried Pickles, Onion Rings and Homemade Soups made daily.

Fridays: Catfish Plates are $9.75

April 4 - 10, 2012

$4.00 Happy Hour Well Drinks!

42

visit HalandMals.com for a full menu and concert schedule

601.948.0888

200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson, Mississippi

CUCHO, JESUS & THE FUNKY AMIGOS (Latin Funk/Jazz) 9-1, $5 Cover before 8:30 $10 Cover after 8:30

Coming April 21 Ardenland Presents Marcia Ball

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43

by Bryan Flynn

by Bryan Flynn

Major League Baseball starts this week, but the sports world has its collective eyes on Augusta, Ga. Tiger Woods and The Masters should draw big ratings.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6 MLB (6-9 p.m. ESPN2): Two possible winners of the National League West face off in an early season battle, as the Arizona Diamondbacks host Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7 NCAA Hockey (6-9 p.m. ESPN2): The Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Frozen Four Final will crown a champion in college hockey when the winner of Union (N.Y.) vs. Ferris State faces the winner of Boston College vs.

Minnesota.

SUNDAY, APRIL 8 PGA (1-6 p.m. CBS): Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the finalround coverage of The Masters golf tournament live. The winner dons the famous green jacket.

MONDAY, APRIL 9 MLB (7:05-10 p.m.) Fox Sports South): The Atlanta Braves travel to Texas to take on the Houston Astros.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10 MLB (7:05-10 p.m. FSS): Game two of a three-game series between the Braves and the Astros The final game on the same network and time Wednesday night.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 NBA (7-9:30 p.m. ESPN) Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Monta Ellis and the Milwaukee Bucks host the New York Knicks in a battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Wednesday is also the start of the NHL Playoffs. Guys, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to stop shaving and grow your playoff beard.

Follow Bryan Flynn at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports and at facebook.com/jfpsports.

O

n March 21, the NFL laid the smackdown on the New Orleans Saints. After months of speculation, Commissioner Roger Goodell finally handed down his ruling, and it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pretty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bountygateâ&#x20AC;? resulted in head coach Sean Payton getting suspended from April 1 until after the next Super Bowl. General manager Mickey Loomis is getting an eight-game suspension, and linebacker coach Joe Vitt got hit with six games out and a $500,000 fine.

The Saints also lost two second-round draft picks, one this year and one next year.

Many Saints fans are up in arms over the NFLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ruling. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no surprise; â&#x20AC;&#x153;fanâ&#x20AC;? is short for fanatic. Even local columnist Rick Cleveland jumped on the fanatical bandwagon.

I understand that the Saints are, for many, Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NFL team, but letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not miss the point about why Goodell came down so hard on New Orleans: Putting bounties on players for â&#x20AC;&#x153;knockoutsâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;cart-offsâ&#x20AC;? is not good, clean football. Intentionally trying to hurt another player is not what sports should be about.

Cleveland tried to compare â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bountygateâ&#x20AC;? with the New England Patriots â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spygate,â&#x20AC;? but the two scandals have major differences.

First, the Patriots got caught in the first game of the 2007 season after one of their former coaches turned them in. NFL officials asked New Orleans about putting bounties on players in 2009.

Sure, it was hard for the Patriots to lie to the NFL when it had the confiscated tape (the Patriots started filming in 2000, but they were not caught until 2007), but the Saints lied outright to the NFL in its initial investigation.

Then, instead of shutting down the bounty program, they kept it up for an additional two years. Head coach Sean Payton claimed ignoranceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;until the NFL found this in an email: â&#x20AC;&#x153;PS Greg Williams put me down for $5000 on Rogers (sic).â&#x20AC;?

When investigators showed Payton the evidenceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which had been sent to Payton from a â&#x20AC;&#x153;close associateâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;during the course of the investigation, he admitted that it referred to a bounty on Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the opening game of this past season. In other words, Payton lied until the NFL caught him red-handed. His mistake was not a youthful indiscretion. Sean Payton is a 48-

year-old man. mates might have had them on their hit list.

Payton could have learned from recent The NFLPA is conducting its own invescollege events that lying, looking the other tigation. Protecting its members should be the way or trying cover up a scandal only make associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest priority. If their findings the punishment worse. Jim Tressel, of Ohio are the same as the NFLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, they should want State University, and Bruce Pearl, of the Uni- the league to come down hard on players inversity of Tennessee, got fired for lying and volved to show the rest of its membership that trying to cover up their mistakes. bounties will not be tolerated.

Now, getting free tattoos and having Goodell was right to come down hard basketball recruits at a cookout is not the same as putting bounties on other players. But the ways Tressel, Pearl and Payton handled their situations are similar. The only difference, so far, is that Pearl and Tressel got fired, while Payton still has a job. If he escapes with just a suspension, he should consider himself lucky.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton got what he deserved In 2007, from the NFL. Goodellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s punishment in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spygateâ&#x20AC;? was the harshest punishment ever given to a on the Saints. New Orleans escaped a 2009coach in NFL history. Bill Belichick had to 2010 season Vicodin scandal unharmed, pay a $500,000 fine. and the team has not been a league favorite Five years later, Payton and Saints fans in recent years. The Saints have been pushing should have known the league was going to their luck and selling their souls in pursuit of come down hard. As head coach and the a Super Bowl. Like a crooked college football face of the franchise from a management program, all that pushing and selling finally standpoint, Payton should be held to a caught up with New Orleans. high standard.

Instead of being mad at Roger Goodell, Cleveland said everyone in the NFL Saints fans (and columnists) should be upset has bounty programs. He equated it to traf- with a head coach and general manager who fic speeders: Everyone does it. But joining the brought down their team. Payton and Loomis crowd doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make you less guilty. New Or- made matters worse by looking the other way leans got caught, and the NFL made them an and lying. example to the rest of the league: If you have a The 2012-2013 season wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be remembounty program, and you get caught, you will bered for play on the field but for those not on be punished. it. Saintsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; detractors will always believe their One of the saddest parts of the mess is Super Bowl title is tainted, exactly like Patriotsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that his fellow union members selected Drew critics do after â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spy Gate.â&#x20AC;?

Brees to represent them against the league durNew Orleans deserved what it got, so far. ing the lockout. Little did those NFL Players Player suspensions are likely on the way.

Association members know that Breesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; teamComment at www.jfp.ms.

MICHAEL C. HEBER

THURSDAY, APRIL 5 NBA (6-11 p.m. TNT): Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a huge day of sports overall, but the best bet might be this basketball double header featuring the New York Knicks in Orlando followed by the Boston Celtics at the Chicago Bulls.

Getting What They Deserve

Bryanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rant â&#x20AC;˘ B-Ball, Saints and Long Seasons

April 4 - 10, 2012

, 44

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Grab ya beads and come on out!

Wednesday - April 4 Karaoke - No Cover

Deisel 255 Friday, April 6

Thursday - April 5 Mike Thumb from Mike and Marty with the outrageous happy hour and farm animal ho-down Free from 5 - 7pm | 2-for-1drinks Free admission Ladies Night Ladies - No Cover | Men - $5 Cover Live Dance Music from Snazz

Friday - April 6 & Saturday - April 7

Dirty Play

Rock | $5 cover | 9pm Monday - April 9 Coors Light Cordless Corner Last week for original musicians to compete for recording deal $1 cover for charity | 7pm - until Tuesday - April 10 Jason Turner at Happy Hour | Doug Frank’s Invitational Jam Night | Tons of local musicians in the house | Join for the best kept secret in town! $5 cover | 1st drink free | 8pm - until Bourbon St. in the Quarter (Formerly Poets) 1855 Lakeland Drive Jackson, MS 601.987.0808

Hip Kitty

Saturday, April 7 - Wednesday - Open Mic Night - Thursday Night: Ladies Night with DVDJ Reign -Karaoke in The Jazz Bar (Thu - Sat) - Happy Hour in The Jazz Bar Tuesday - Friday 4-7pm 2 -4 -1 Wells, Calls, & Domestics, PLUS $5 appetizers To book a private party please call

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Wednesday - April 4

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45

DINING|food

COURTESY ROXANNA SALCEDA

Hippity-Hop to Brunch

E

aster Sunday is no time to be worrying about pots, pans and cleanup. This Easter, head to one of the Jackson area’s many fine restaurants for an excellent brunch and terrific service. Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find:

Another Broken Egg Café (Renaissance at Colony Park, 1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 1009, Ridgeland, 601-790-9170) Open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Easter Sunday; the menu features biscuit beignets, fresh-fruit samplers, blackberry grits, gourmet muffins and monster cinnamon rolls.

And, of course, there are plenty of egg dishes including 17 varieties of omelets, all served with country potatoes and a crisp English muffin.

Easter Feasts ‘Round the World

April 4 - 10, 2012

M

46

by Whitney Menogan

ost Easter suppers have three things in common: bringing forth thanksgiving, remembering the meaning of Easter and providing fellowship for family and friends.

Here are a few of the many time-honored Easter feasts around the globe: The centerpiece of many Easter tables across America is a ham, prepared to the chef’s liking. Side dishes such as creamy green-bean casseroles, yams with cinnamon and marshmallows, macaroni and cheese, and a variety of pies baked to perfection complement the ham.

In Tuscany, Italy, families enjoy Florentine love-knot cookies, folded to resemble a person praying, and Colomba, which is a type of doveshaped bread. Pannetone, a fruit and nut bread, and a traditional Easter pie made with ricotta cheese are also favorites of this region.

Kulich is tall, cylindrical sweet bread that devotees in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus take to church on Easter Sunday, where a priest blesses it. The bread then becomes part of Easter dinner.

Brazilians eat Pacoca, a paste made with crushed, mixed nuts and other raw ingredients, along with clipfish, which are dry, salted cod, and an Easter ring cake.

Many Spanish Christians’ Easter dinners include fish soups and asparagus with Spanish garlic mayonnaise. They use bread, milk, eggs and honey to create pastries, and then fry them in olive oil. The pastries are served with various sauces.

Greeks enjoy rice and lamb soup on Easter, made from the remaining pieces of a lamb killed on Good Friday. For dessert, they enjoy Greek Koullourakia, Easter cookies made with orange juice and topped with sesame seeds.

Babalu Tacos and Tapas (622 Duling Ave., 601-366-5757) Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Easter Sunday. Lunch specials include black beans and rice, grilled chicken, hamburger steak, pan-roasted redfish and slow-braised pork with poblano-cilantro rice. Also try some of Babalu’s specialty drinks such as the Bloody Maria, Pepe O’Malley and the Baba-rita.

CLIPART

Italian Love Knot Cookies

Bon Ami (Maywood Mart, 1220 E. Northside Drive, Suite 230, 601982-0405) Enjoy Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a menu that includes smoked salmon Benedict, fresh English muffin with applewood-smoked bacon, Atlantic smoked salmon and poached eggs with traditional hollandaise sauce. Bon Ami also offers a prime-rib special: prime rib topped with baby carrots, horseradish, sour cream and fingerling potatoes. No reservations accepted.

Bravo! Italian Restaurant and Bar (Highland Village, 4500 Interstate 55 N., 601-982-8111) Serving Sunday brunch 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Brunch menu includes blackened redfish Benedict, crabmeat and cheese omelet, paneed crab cakes, New Orleans style shrimp and grits, and specialty breakfast pizzas.

Table 100 (100 Ridge Way, Flowood, 601-420-4202) Daily specials are available on Easter Sunday. The Jazz Brunch menu includes French onion soup, sausage and seafood gumbo, macaroni and cheese with Tripp country ham, crab cake Florentine, steak and eggs, and croissant bread pudding. Be sure to try the Table 100 Signature Eggs Benedict— an old-fashioned buttermilk biscuit with hickory-smoked pulled pork, poached eggs and smoked tomato barbecue hollandaise sauce.

Char (Highland Village, 4500 Interstate 55 N., 601-956-9562) Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. offers a menu featuring custard-fried French toast, chicken and waffles, chickenfired steak, shrimp Creole and more.

by Dustin Cardon Julep Restaurant and Bar (Highland Village, 4500 Interstate 55 N., 601-362-1411) Brunch is served Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Enjoy two-for-one mimosas and Bloody Marys. The menu includes beignets, quiche, shrimp and grits, catfish tacos, bananas Foster French toast, shrimp toast and steak and eggs Benedict.

King Edward Hotel (235 W. Capitol St., 601-969-8550) Easter brunch features live jazz with seatings at noon and 2 p.m. $29.95 for adults, $16.95 for children. Menu features braised lamb stew; smoked boneless chicken thighs; roasted potato medley; soup, salad and crepe stations; and a carving station featuring smoked ribeye, sliced to order.

Pan-Asia (720 Harbor Pointe Crossing, Ridgeland, 601-9562958) Serving brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring a buffet of traditional PanAsia breakfast items. Brunch buffet includes an omelet station and a waffle station, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, kung pao chicken, Mongolian barbecue, teriyaki-glazed salmon, biscuits, smoked sausage, thickcut bacon, sushi, yogurt and pastries. $13.99 for all-you-can-eat, children 10 and under free.

Que Sera Sera (2801 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-2520) Serving brunch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a menu featuring brabant potatoes, eggs Benedict and five types of omelets: seafood, Creole, crawfish, Italian, and ham and cheese, bleu egg Sardou and crawfish Benedict.

Ro’ Chez (204 W. Jackson St., Ridgeland, 601-503-8244) Open Easter Sunday with seatings at noon and 2 p.m. $30 per guest for three courses. Menu to be determined.

Wellington’s at the Hilton (1001 E. County Line Road, 601-957-2800) Easter Bountiful Buffet in the Grand Ballroom from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Featuring a chef’s cold table with garden salad, homemade tuna salad, assorted cheese tray and crackers, peel ‘n’ eat Gulf shrimp, smoked salmon, and seasonal fruit bowls. The carving station features roasted prime rib with horseradish sauce and au jus and baked ham with maple bourbon glaze. Also enjoy southern fried chicken, fried Mississippi catfish, candied yams, shrimp scampi, baked mac ’n’ cheese and southern green beans. Dessert includes strawberry shortcake, key lime pie, pecan squares, bread pudding and Mississippi mud pie. Adult admission is $25.95 plus 20-percent service charge, children ages 4 to 12 $12.95; free for children under 4.

Is your restaurant listed? Add more options by commenting at www.jfp.ms.

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COFFEE HOUSES

Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local group of coffeehouses offer high-end Arabica beans, a wide variety of espresso drinks. Wi-fi.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Babalu (622 Duling Ave., 601-366-5757) Fresh guacamole at the table, fish tacos, empanada, smoked pork sholders, Mexican street corn—Jackson’s “Best Mexican” specialties mix extremely well with their “Best of Jackson 2012” magaritas.

Jaco’s Tacos (318 South State Street) Tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Tex-Mex at its finest and freshest. Tacos come with a side of butter-based mantequilla sauce for dipping. Enjoy the the patio and full bar service.

BARS, PUBS & BURGERS

Bourbon Street in the Quarter (1855 Lakeland Drive, 601-987-0808) Jackson’s hot new spot for great New Orleans cuisine, live entertainment and libations from the bar featuring daily lunch specials and happy hour in the landmark Poet’s location.

Reed Pierce’s (6791 Siwell Rd., Byram, 601-376-0777) Eat, Drink, Play! Burgers, Po-Boys, pub fare and dinner specialties including ribeye, filet, fried shrimp and more. 9-Ball lounge features tourney tables, full bar, live entertainment.

Hal and Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or each day’s blackboard special. Best of Jackson winner for Live Music Venue for multiple years running.

Burgers and Blues (1060 E. County Line Road, Ridgeland 601-899-0038) Al Stamps (of Cool Al’s fame) does it again with his signature approach to burgers, chicken, wraps, seasoned fries and so much more. Plus live music and entertainment!

Cherokee Inn (960 Briarfield Rd. 601-362-6388) Jackson’s “Best Hole in the Wall,” has a great jukebox, great bar and a great burger. Plate lunches, cheesy fries and tons more, including a full bar and friendly favorites.

Cool Al’s (4654 McWillie, 601-713-3020) A Best of Jackson fixture, Cool Al’s signature stacked, messy, decadent, creative burgers defy adjectives. And don’t forget the fries!

Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches and beers such as Guinness and Harp on tap.

Last Call (3716 I-55 N. Frontage Road 601-713-2700) Burgers, sandwiches and po-boys, plus sports-bar appetizers and specialities. Pay-per-view sporting events, live bands.

Martin’s Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers (jalapeno poppers, cheezsticks, fried pickles) or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, massive beer selection and live music most nights.

Time Out Sports Café (6720 Old Canton Road 601-978-1839) 14 TVs, 1 projector and two big-screens. Daily $9 lunch specials, pub-style appetizers, burgers, seafood and catfish po-boys, salads, and hot entrees including fish, steak and pasta.

Ole Tavern on George Street (416 George St. 601-960-2700) Pub food with a southern flair: beer-battered onion rings, chicken & sausage gumbo, salads, sandwiches and weekly lunch specials. Plus, happy hour 4-7pm Monday through Friday.

Sportsman’s Lodge (1120 E Northside Dr. in Maywood Mart 601-366-5441) Voted Best Sports Bar in 2010, Sportman’s doesn’t disappoint with plenty of gut-pleasing sandwiches, fried seafood baskets, sandwiches and specialty appetizers.

Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Jumbo lump crabcakes, crab quesadillas, beef tenderloin parfaits, orange-garlic shrimp, even “lollipop” lamb chops. Add a full bar and mix in great music. Opens 4 p.m.-until, Wed-Sat. Wing Stop (952 North State Street, 601-969-6400) Saucing and tossing in a choice of nine flavors, Wing Stop wings are made with care and served up piping hot. Every order is made fresh to order; check out the fresh cut seasoned fries!

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AMERICAN/SOUTHERN CUISINE

Another Broken Egg (1000 Highland Colony #1009 in Renaissance, 601.790.9170) Open Daily 7am-2pm for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Egg, benedict and omelet dishes, pancakes, waffles, specialties, burgers, salads and sandwiches. Mimosas, coffees and more!

jacksonfreepress.com

ASIAN

Pan Asia (720 Harbor Pines Dr, Ridgeland 601-956-2958) Beautiful ambiance in this popular Ridgeland eatery accompanies signature asian fusion dishes and build-your-own stir-frys using fresh ingredients and great sauces.

Fusion Japanese and Thai Cuisine (1002 Treetop Blvd, Flowood 601-664-7588) Specializing in fresh Japanese and Thai cuisine, Fusion has an extensive menu featuring everything from curries to fresh sushi.

47

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Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) Frequent Best of Jackson winner for fried chicken offers a buffet of your choice of veggies, a salad bar, iced tea & one of four homemade desserts. Lunch only. Mon-Friday, Sun.

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Broad Street Bakery (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) Hot breakfast,coffee espresso drinks, fresh breads and pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches, quiches, soups, pizzas and dessert.

For Heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cakes (4950 Old Canton Road 601-991-2253) Cakes and cupcakes for all occasions including weddings, parties, catered events.

Beagle Bagel (4500 I-55 North, Suite 145, Highland Village 769-251-1892) Fresh bagels in tons of different styles with a variety of toppings including cream cheese, lox, eggs, cheese, meats and or as full sandwiches for lunch. Paninis, wraps and much more!

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VEGETARIAN

High Noon CafĂŠ (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch options at Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own strict vegetarian (and very-vegan-friendly) restaurant.

BARBEQUE

Hickory Pit Barbeque (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best Butts in Townâ&#x20AC;? features BBQ chicken, beef and pork sandwiches along with burgers and poâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;boys.

Haute Pig (1856 Main Street, 601-853-8538) A â&#x20AC;&#x153;very high class pig stand,â&#x20AC;? Haute Pig offers Madison diners BBQ plates, sandwiches, poboys, salads, and their famous Hershey bar pie.

Lumpkins BBQ (182 Raymond Rd. Jackson 866-906-0942) Specializing in smoked barbeque, Lumpkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offers all your favorites for on-site family dining or for catered events, including reunions, office events, annivesaries, weddings and more.

PIZZA

The Pizza Shack (1220 N State St. 601-352-2001) 2009 and 2010 and 2011â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winner of Best Pizza offers the perfect pizza-and-a-beer joint.

Creative pizza options abound along with sandwiches, wings, salads and even BBQ. Sal & Mookieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant parmesan and the fried ravioli. Best Kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Menu & Best Ice Cream in the 2011 Best of Jackson. Plus, Pi(e) Lounge in front offers great drinks and a fun atmosphere for catching up with friends.

ITALIAN

BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Wood-fired pizzas, vegetarian fare, plus creative pastas, beef, and seafood specials. Awardwinning wine list, Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see-and-be-seen casual/upscale dining.

Ceramiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298) Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami (white wine sauce, capers artichokes) along with veal, tilapia, crawfish, chicken and pasta dishes. Now with liquor license!

STEAK, SEAFOOD & FINE DINING Crawdad Hole (1150 Lakeland Drive., 601-982-9299) Serving up fresh seasonal crawfish, shrimp and crab legs the Crawdad is Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crawfish destination. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll also want to try their delicious gumbo while enjoying Friday night karaoke!

Crabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seafood Shack (6954 Old Canton Rd., Ridgeland, 601-956-5040) Crabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offers a wide variety of southern favorites such as fried catfish and boiled shrimp. Full bar complete with multiple televisions for all of your favorite sporting events.

Eslavaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grille (2481 Lakeland Drive, 601-932-4070) Danny Eslavaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s namesake feature Latin-influenced dishes like ceviche in addition to pastas, steaks, salads and other signature seafood dishes.

Rockyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1046 Warrington Road, Vicksburg 601-634-0100) Enjoy choice steaks, fresh seafood, great salads, hearty sandwiches and much more in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;polished casualâ&#x20AC;? dining room. Open 24/7 in the Riverwalk Casino.

April 4 - 10, 2012

MEDITERRANEAN/GREEK/INDIAN

48

Mediterranean Fish & Grill (The Med- 6550 Old Canton Rd./601-956-0082) Serving a fabulous selection of fish, gyros, and heart-healthy vegetarian food for over 10 years. Now serving fried catfish & bone-in pan trout.

Aladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033) Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma and much more. Consistent award winner, great for takeout or for long evenings with friends.

Mezza (1896 Main St., Suite A, Madison 601-853-0876) Mediterranean cuisine and wood fired brick oven pizzas. Come experience the beautiful patio, Hookahs, and delicious food. Beer is offered and you are welcome to bring your own wine.

M editerranean 'JTI (SJMM

Now Offering

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Best of Jackson 2008 - 2011 Dinner: Tues. -Sat. | 5pm-9pm

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Drop In For Our

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Now accepting the JSU Supercard.

Lunch Specials are listed daily at

www.stevestown.com

In Town & in the USA -Best of Jackson 2003-2011-

Voted Best Veggie Burger

707 N Congress St., Jackson | 601-353-1180 Open 11am-2pm, Sunday thru Friday

4654 McWillie Dr., Jackson|Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 10AM-9PM Friday & Saturday 10AM-10PM, Sunday CLOSED

-Food & Wine Magazine-

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49

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

by Meredith W. Sullivan

D

oes one make a list for the Easter Bunny? Or is that just Santa? Regardless, the bunny is on his way, and this year I decided to put together a guide for him. I’d be happy if he blesses my basket with any of these great gifts that I’ve seen around town.

Metallic Mesh Tote, The Stompeez Bunny Slippers,

Brent’s Drugs, $22

Museum Store at the Mississippi Museum of Art, $160

Jonathan Adler Grapefruit Pop Candle, Brent’s

Seychelles Haven’t Got a Worry Platforms,

Drugs, $38.50

Libby Story, $114 Bunny ears, Nandy’s Candy, $6.00

White Chocolate Chickadee,

Urban Sunday Children’s Bow Tie, The Museum Store at the

Nandy’s Candy, $7.95

Mississippi Museum of Art, $24

Neiman Marcus Apple and Pear Salt and Pepper Shakers,

From Our House to Yours, $28

April 4 - 10, 2012

Where2Shop:

50

Brent’s Drugs, 655 Duling Ave., 601-366-3427; From Our House to Yours, 830 Wilson Drive, Suite E, Ridgeland, 601-956-1818; The Museum Store at the Mississippi Museum of Art, 380 S. Lamar St., 601-960-1515; Nandy’s Candy, 1220 E. Northside Drive, Suite 380, 601-362-9553; Libby Story, 1000 Highland

Colony Parkway, Suite 5003, 601-717-3300.

Bunny Wind-Up Toy, Nandy’s Candy, $3.95

Every bunny shops at Nandyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

1000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of batteries for everything in the worldâ&#x20AC;Ś For All Your Battery Needs!

BE PREPARED Midland Portable Weather Radio

$39.95 Mention this ad for

10% off on any cell phone or camera battery. expires 4/18

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located at the intersection of Airport Rd. & Lakeland Dr. www.batteryworldonline.com

NANDYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CANDY

111 Colony Crossing Madison, MS 220 East Main Starkville, MS 601.898.4643

1220 E Northside Dr, #380, Jackson, MS 601-362-9553 â&#x20AC;˘ Mon-Sat 10-6 www.nandyscandy.com

or aiser f A fundr ritan Center od Sama The Go

Egg Discount Sale!

Create Your Very Own Jewelry!

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$RAW AN EGG FOR A DISCOUNT OR PRIZE

Bulk Clothing NOW Available!

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Customized HandCrafted Jewelry... taking your ideas and turn them into reality.

Best Jewelry Designer -Best of Jackson 2012-

West Jackson St. Ridgeland, MS 601-607-7741215 bfineartjewelry.com

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Voted the metroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s #1 consignment store in the Best of Jackson 2012.

Voted stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best consignment/resale by Mississippi Magazine.

Ridgeland Location: 626 Ridgewood Road | 601.605.9393 REVOLUTION Starkville: 327A Hwy 12 West | 662.324.2641 Like Us: Facebook:Repeat Street Metro Jackson | Twitter: @RepeatSt | www.repeatstreet.net

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Security Cameras • Attendant On Duty Drop Off Service • Free Wi-Fi

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Sign up for one of Donna Ladd’s new creative non-fiction class series.

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Get on mailing list at class@jacksonfreepress.com or call 601-362-6121, ext. 15.

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Bring this ad in to a store near you and receive 10% OFF your next purchase. Discounted items excluded.

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Holiday Hours: Fri, April 6: 9am-5pm • Sat, April 7: normal hours Closed Sun, April 8 for Easter

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