V16n22 - City Contract Controversies

vol. 16 no.22

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Controversies Explode …

Again Bragg, pp 14 - 16

(2012) City Enters $400 Million EPA Consent Decree

g n i r e e t S y Cit

? s t c a r t n o C

Mayor on Cont a Poor Job Follracts: City has Done owing Up Accuses

Minority Company Contractor of “Bait-and-Switch”

City Council Votes to Sue Siemens

Lawsuit: Form Contract Pay- er City Employee Allege t s o-Play Scheme id a p n U ors Female Contract ? tract Work for City Subcon

Facing Sessions’ DOJ Dreher, pp 6 -7

Our Local Water War Minka, p 13

Hip-Hop & Healing Smith, p 22

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JACKSONIAN Charles Jett Stephen Wilson

C

harles Jett, owner of Empty Coffin Studios, has been part of the Jackson art scene for many years. His studio has been in the North Midtown Arts Center for four years.

“I call my studio ‘Empty Coffin’ because I plan to be doing this until I’m in my coffin, and then, it won’t be empty anymore,” Jett says with a laugh. “The studio basically holds all the creative stuff I do lumped into one heading—lots of painting, lots of illustration and film work. The name is also partly because I tend more toward horror in my film work.”

Jett, 48, graduated from St. Joseph High School before going on to Hinds Community College, where he took commercial art courses. His first job after college was in 1988 as a designer for Stamm Advertising, which used to be located on Upton Drive. He stayed with Stamm for eight years and worked for numerous other sign companies in the metro area over the years. He currently has a day job making lighted signage for Rainbow Signs.

“I don’t make much of a separation between commercial and fine art for myself; painting or creating a logo is all design for me. I consider myself just as tech-advanced as anyone now, but with a traditional background in drawing and hand illustration, and a penchant for sketching on paper first

contents

rather than by computer,” he says.

Jett has also been working on film projects through Empty Coffin Studios, with a focus on horror films. He wrote and directed the short film “Pinkie Swear,” working with filmmaker Wade Patterson.

Jett describes the 16-minute film as a psychological thriller about a doctor who lost his wife to a tragic illness and later finds both love and betrayal.

Currently, Jett is working on a documentary with Richard Stowe, a local filmmaker whose company Lotus Additions is also in the NMAC. The documentary details the life of retired Mississippi artist Ed Millet, whom Stowe is also planning a homecoming event for to coincide with the documentary’s release.

“You won’t find a richer group of people to associate with than Jackson artists and filmmakers,” Jett says. “There are lots of people who are willing to help others, and you’re sure to be able to learn from people both older and younger than you.

“I think you can find more diverse opinions and more talent per square mile in the Jackson metro than anywhere else. My advice to anyone looking to break into the Jackson art scene is to be diligent, always be creating and working, and don’t fear collaboration. Dream it, and you can do it.” —Dustin Cardon

cover photo of Renna Fisher and Regina Quinn May

by Stephen Wilson

6 ............................ Talks 12 ................... editorial 13 ...................... opinion 14 ............ Cover Story 18 ........... food & Drink 20 ......................... 8 Days 21 ........................ Events

7 Cops Learn Mental Health Skills

Some Hinds County law enforcement officers graduated from an intensive mental health training last week.

18 Super Bowl Happenings

Read about a few of the places and events where Jackson football fans can catch the big game, get a beer and grab a bite to eat this Sunday, Feb. 4.

21 ....................... sports 22 .......................... music 22 ........ music listings 24 ...................... Puzzles 25 ......................... astro 25 ............... Classifieds

22 808 Shares His Story

“The whole reason I even started talking about my disease was because I was self-conscious. ... It just so happened that other people were inspired and felt like they could talk to me.”

—D’Andre Jones, “A Story of Healing & Hip-hop”

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

4 ............ Editor’s Note

Stephen WIlson; flickr / M Gustav; Stephen Wilson

January 31 - February 6, 2018 | Vol. 16 No. 22

3

editor’s note

by Amber Helsel, Managing Editor

Fresh Eyes on the Capital City

W

hen dancers in the USA International Ballet Competition refer to the competition in Jackson (which, by the way, is the only one of its kind in the U.S.), they simply refer to it as “Jackson.”

USA IBC Executive Director Mona Nicholas says out of all the IBC competitions in the world, competitors are often most excited about this one.

“I think it’s the hospitality,” she told me in a recent interview.

A good number of the people who live, work and play in Jackson on a daily basis probably don’t think about the capital city as a place that is exciting, though.

It’s especially hard to see it through that lens if you are one of the people who has been dealing with the compounding issues of the last month or so.

Due to the span of cold weather, we had a lot of pipes burst or leak. That caused more issues, including postponed classes for many schools, which meant local students had to miss way too many days. And as always, you can still throw a rock in the streets and probably hit a pothole.

The dancers in USA IBC are lucky, in that they are able to see the city with fresh eyes. They get to be excited about Jackson.

But the reality is that we are all looking at the same city with the same potential.

So why can’t we be excited about it?

Why can’t we be excited about Jackson and its potential, while still being aware that the city has issues for us to fix?

Before I started working at the Jackson Free Press as an editorial intern, I did not know much about Jackson. I just knew that it existed. Like those dancers, I got to see the city with fresh eyes. I got to see a place booming with possibility. I got to know

Jackson and the many things that make the capital city great, from the food scene to the people to a community of creatives who try to help each other rather than compete.

As of April 1, I will have worked at the Jackson Free Press for five years. Of those years, I’ve been through more than 200 issues, countless issues of BOOM Jackson and four Best of Jackson competitions.

Best of Jackson is always both a fun and tedious experience. There is a lot of

It serves as a way to show off lesser-known people who keep the gears turning as the city and metro area march along.

Our events calendar, one of our most popular features, keeps people informed about what is happening in the area and gives them a way to tell others when something cool is happening.

That way, if someone is like, “There’s nothing to do here,” you can open a copy of the JFP or find the calendar at jfpvents.

Why can’t we be excited about Jackson and its potential? work that goes into it, between assigning, writing, editing, fact-checking and everything else, but it is always worth the effort because it serves as another reminder that the city and its people truly are great.

I am not sure what the attendance numbers were like for this year’s event— 1,300 RSVP’d—but the Best of Jackson party felt much bigger than it in the past.

Everyone showed up—winners, finalists, friends of winners and finalists, and plenty who just love a good party. They all gathered for one thing: to celebrate Jackson and to be supportive of this city we call home.

While Best of Jackson is our biggest issue, the Jackson Free Press strives to celebrate and support the city year round. That is why we do everything we do here.

Each issue, we have a “Jacksonian” story to highlight someone in the community.

com and shove it in their face. With loving kindness, naturally.

We strive to shine a spotlight on the good parts of the city along with the bad, in order to build and improve. It’s a delicate balance, and in my opinion, we do it well.

Working at the JFP gave me the opportunity to explore the places that I’ve always been curious about, and now I know the whole city pretty much like the back of my hand. I’m not afraid of Jackson, and you shouldn’t be, either.

Now, I probably spend more time out and about in Jackson than I do at my house.

I’d much rather go eat at a local restaurant (what up, Rooster’s?) than grab fast food. I’d much rather visit one of our cool museums, like the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Children’s Museum, Mississippi Museum of Art, Museum of

Mississippi History or Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, instead of sitting around and doing nothing. I’d rather go to a local event than do almost anything else (except maybe painting).

While it doesn’t feel as much like this in the outer counties, it seems like anywhere you go in Jackson, you can probably run into someone you know, or better yet, make a new friend.

Most people I interview, especially those who are not from Mississippi, say that is one of the things that they like most about the city: There is literally a friend around every corner.

Jackson is a flawed, imperfect, pothole-covered city, but it is also a place of community, good people, great food, passion and drive, and even greater potential.

While it may be hard sometimes to remove ourselves from day-in-day-out dealings with the city, we occasionally need to.

We need to look at Jackson the way those dancers do. We need to be excited about going to Jackson, experiencing and relishing the good parts. We need to speak up about issues and keep city administration on the right path, but we also just need to stake a step back and enjoy Jackson.

We need to go find new things, new sights to see, and new places to shop and eat. We need to find people we haven’t met and make new friends and collaborators.

And you never know. Making the most of the things you love about the capital city may just be the spark you need to fix the things you don’t. It is for me.

Managing Editor Amber Helsel is an artist, otaku, feminist and Gemini. Her favorite activities include petting her cat, hoarding art supplies and watching anime. Email her story ideas at amber@jacksonfreepress.com.

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

contributors

4

Ko Bragg

Arielle Dreher

Stephen Wilson

Dustin Cardon

Rebecca Hester

Micah Smith

Kimberly Griffin

Stephen Wright

City Reporter Ko Bragg is a Philadelphia, Miss., transplant who recently completed her master’s in journalism. She loves traveling and has been to 25 countries to date. She started digging into city contracting for the cover story.

News Reporter Arielle Dreher is working on finding some new hobbies and adopting an otter from the Jackson Zoo. Email her story ideas at arielle@jacksonfreepress.com.

She wrote about immigration and mental health.

Staff Photographer Stephen Wilson is always on the scene, bringing you views from the six. He contributed some of the photographs in this issue including the cover.

Web Editor Dustin Cardon is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. He enjoys reading fantasy novels and wants to write them himself one day. He wrote the Jacksonian story.

Events Editor Rebecca Hester recently moved to the Jackson area, and loves Alabama football, Boston Celtics basketball, the outdoors, music, dogs and volunteering as much as humanly possible. She compiled and edited the events.

Music Editor Micah Smith is a longtime fan of music, comedy and all things “nerd.” He is married to a great lady, has two dog-children named Kirby and Zelda, and plays in the band Empty Atlas. He wrote about 808 tha BASS.

Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin is a Jackson native who loves Jesus, her mama, cooking, traveling, the Callaway Chargers, chocolate, her godson, working out, Mississippi University for Women and locally owned restaurants.

Sales and Marketing Consultant Stephen Wright is a Clinton native who lives life through the four F’s: faith, family, football and food. For your advertising needs, contact him at stephen@jacksonfreepress.com.

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Thursday, January 25 Attorney General Jim Hood and Revenue Commissioner Herb Frierson file lawsuits against four mail-order wine sellers, saying they illegally shipped wine and liquor into the state.

Friday, January 26 A Mississippi House Judiciary Committee passes the Mississippi Anti-Gang Act, which would make “criminal gang activity” a separate offense from any underlying misdemeanor or felony charge if prosecutors can prove they are gang members under a looser definition.

Saturday, January 27 Casino magnate Steve Wynn resigns as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee following allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Sunday, January 28 Protesters gather across Russia to support opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s call to boycott the March presidential election, which Vladimir Putin is sure to win, and Navalny himself is arrested while walking to the demonstration.

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Monday, January 29 The Senate Medicaid Committee advances a bill, removing earlier proposals to cut payments to health care providers and require all Medicaid spending to be administered by managed care companies. … House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson announces that Mississippi lawmakers will not vote this year on creating a religious exemption to state vaccination requirements.

Tuesday, January 30 Republican House Rules Committee Chairman Jason White says Mississippi lawmakers won’t consider removing the Confederate emblem from the state flag this year, claiming there is “no consensus on making a change.”

Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

— Sandy Middleton on trafficking in Mississippi and the need for more training.

Jackson Police Department suspends officers involved in shooting p8

An Immigration Fight on Multiple Fronts

by Arielle Dreher

T

he City of Jackson’s anti-profiling ordinance will stay on the books, as far as Chokwe A. Lumumba is concerned. The Mississippi Legislature targeted the 2010 ordinance as a “sanctuary city” policy in 2017, and now U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department has added the capital city to his list of 23 jurisdictions he believes could be violating federal laws that prohibit local or state governments from restricting communication between immigration services and government entities.

Now, Jackson police officers cannot ask about a person’s immigration status unless it is in the course of a criminal investigation or necessary to assist federal law enforcement. The Justice Department has taken issue with this part of city code, however, and sent a second letter to the City last week threatening to subpoena documents as well as retract federal funds to the city.

Lumumba says the ordinance complies with federal law, however, and that it actually helps communitypolicing efforts across the city.

“Racial profiling is patently illegal,” Lumumba told reporters Monday. “… Furthermore, racial profiling is ineffective. It alienates communities from law enforcement, disrupts community policing efforts, and causes Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba says the City of Jackson will not back law enforcement to forfeit credibility and trust among down from its anti-profiling ordinance, which the U.S. Justice the people they are sworn to protect and serve.”

Department, under Jeff Sessions’ lead, has taken issue with.

Lumumba said if an undocumented immigrant is worried that police will ask about his or her immigration status, they are less likely to come forward if and when documented individuals often don’t have identification. Therefore, they are the victim of a crime or a key witness to one. they do not open bank accounts. Therefore, they often have great “Just as someone who is undocumented can be the perpetra- amounts of cash on them, and people know this and target them tor of a crime, we know that someone who is undocumented can and look to abuse them in these circumstances, and that is not an be the victim of a crime—and often are victims of crimes, not only environment or culture we want to promote.” in our community but across the country,” Lumumba said.

In a Jan. 24, 2018, letter, the DOJ asked Jackson officials for “We know that this is the case because we know that un- all documents “reflecting any orders, directives, instructions,

State of the Uniomn 10% - Anxiously awaiting someone to challenge Sen. Roger Wicker in the 2018 Senate election

STEPHEN WILSON

Wednesday, January 24 Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, introduces Senate Bill 2400, the “Nonpartisan School Board Election Act,” which would put all school-board member positions on the ballot the same year as statewide elections starting in 2023.

“It just makes sense to us that law enforcement should investigate ... but we certainly want them to be trained to investigate.”

Mississippi Edition 10% - Excited that kids are finally back in school

5% - Annoyed that Jeff Sessions won’t leave the City of Jackson alone

5% - Hoping bridges hold while #msleg works on ways to fix them

20% - Scratching heads about where the Legislature is going to find the money to fund state government

16.5% - Sad that we have to wait a whole year before the next BOJ party

5% - Really wanting that warm weather back

3.5% - January really is the longest month

15% - Wondering why lawmakers are being so secretive about re-writing the state’s education funding formula

10% - Praying for no more boil-water notices

“The kind of elephant in the room with all of us here ... is funding. I don’t anticipate having it. They’re not going to do it because some federal court order is going to do it, and I got to defend the state until we get to that point.”

“Racial profiling is patently illegal. …

Furthermore, racial profiling is ineffective.”

— Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba defending the city’s anti-profiling ordinance, despite pressure from the Department of Justice.

— Attorney General Jim Hood on having to defend the state against the Department of Justice’s mental health litigation.

Cops Learn to Help Mentally Ill Mississippians

by Arielle Dreher training for a while. Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun from Lauderdale County spoke to graduates before they got their certificates and pins last week. He told them CIT had to be a team effort, using a stool he brought with him to illustrate that local mentalhealth centers, organizations like National

Alliance on Mental Illness and law enforcement must coordinate for CIT to work.

“In the long run, I think something really unique happens. Not only do you become a better CIT officer, you just become a better officer,” Calhoun told the graduates. “You become a better person—that’s Stephen Wilson

Joshua Adams, with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, receives his Crisis Intervention Team certificate after graduating from the CIT program on Jan. 26.

or guidance to your law enforcement employees.”

Lumumba says those documents do not exist.

“Our response to the Department of Justice was that, first and foremost, we’re in compliance with the law. The law that DOJ references is one about providing information obtained by law enforcement … if we don’t inquire about it, then we don’t have information to provide. Therefore, we are in accordance with the law,” Lumumba said.

If DOJ determines that Jackson is out of compliance with federal immigration laws, the City might have to return federal grant funds and possibly be deemed ineligible for police-department grants going forward. Lumumba said he has talked to organizations working with other cities around the country on the issue, which showed him that Jackson’s ordinance is “really on the lighter end of things.”

Uniting for DACA?

Immigrants and activists called on Mississippi lawmakers to support legislation that enables immigrants in the state to be eligible for in-state college tuition last week at a press conference.

Rep. Kathy Sykes, D-Jackson, said it is important to unite behind students with Deferred Action for Childhood

Arrivals, or DACA, status and encourage Congress to support its reauthorization.

“On the state level, we have young people who have been here who have exceeded in their education; they’ve done very, very well. However, when they attempt to enroll in college, they have to pay out-of-state tuition, and that is patently unfair,” Sykes said at the Capitol last week. “I have introduced a bill to change that, and hopefully we can gather enough support so these young people can continue on this productive and positive path they are on.”

Sykes filed House Bill 33 to allow undocumented students or students with temporary visas to pay in-state tuition as long as they have a high-school diploma and have lived in Mississippi for five years or more in a row.

That bill appeared dead by press time, but the deadline for bills to come out of committee was 8 p.m. on Tuesday. On the federal level, the negotiations on the DACA program and immigration reform continues, with President Donald Trump offering to extend DACA protections for millions of young people who came to the U.S. as kids in exchange for a multi-billion-dollar wall on the southern border. Immigrants’ rights groups nationally have decried the president’s proposal.

what we’re supposed to be doing. … We ought to be the folks that the community turns to for a solution.”

The ceremony officially marks a shift in how law enforcement and the mentalhealth sectors intersect in the city and county. In Hinds County, when any lawenforcement officer encounters a person she or he suspects is having a mental crisis, they call the mobile crisis team from Hinds Behavioral Health, the county’s community mental-health center, to come to the scene.

Officers responding to calls or mobile crisis teams can now call a CIT-trained officer to help de-escalate the situation for a person in crisis, too. American Medical Response, the city and county emergency medic and ambulance provider, will be called to the scene to take the person to St. Dominic’s Hospital to stabilize.

Merit Health Central agreed to provide overflow beds if needed.

In other words, Hinds County now has a flow chart and a single point of entry to coordinate mental-health care for those more COPS, see page 8

Ending Temporary Status

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that temporary protected status, or TPS, for Haitians will end by July 22, 2019. Additionally, the department is phasing out TPS for Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. TPS is a program that enables people who have a natural or political disaster in their country to come to the U.S. and get work authorization. Patricia Ice, legal director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, says that ending TPS will affect people who came here from Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador back in 1999 and 2000. She said many of them have children and have started lives here, considering themselves Americans.

“The government is trying to deport these people.

They have terminated several TPS programs for people from Central America, from Haiti and other countries, and we have to stop that,” Ice said at the Capitol last week.

MIRA held the press conference to oppose House Bill 1506, which appeared dead by press time.

The proposed bill would require law enforcement officers to inquire about a person’s immigration status when they arrest them as well as penalize businesses who contract with undocumented workers.

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

T

he celebration was small, but the impact is likely to be large. On Friday, Jan. 26, nine local law enforcement officers who work in Hinds County graduated from week-long mentalhealth training to help them on the job.

Crisis Intervention Team training, or CIT for short, is an intensive program.

Officers heard from professionals, learning about mental-health disorders, specific illnesses and how treatment works. They also learned de-escalation techniques and tools to use when confronting a person having a mental-health crisis, which can escalate into deadly encounters if handled poorly.

On the last two days, the graduates ran through live-action scenarios to practice what they learned. Hinds County sheriffs, Jackson Police Department officers, and several college campus and other police officers in the Jackson-Hinds area trained last week, as well as a handful of Mississippi Department of Corrections staff members.

This is the first group to graduate from with CIT certification in Hinds County.

Law-enforcement officers in Lauderdale County and in Meridian have used CIT

7

TALK | state

COPS from page 6 experiencing a crisis instead of that person spending a night or longer in jail when they need to be receiving care instead.

JPD Commander Herman Horton said Jackson has about eight CIT-trained officers and reminded the graduates of the oath they took as a part of the program.

“Bear in mind that when that phone rings, you’re going to have to come because that’s what you swore you would do when you graduated from this class,” he said.

More Training Statewide

Attorney General Jim Hood is hoping training for law-enforcement officials expands statewide to prevent men and women with these issues from being incarcerated. He told the state mental-health task force last week that he wants for lawenforcement officers and professionals to get to know each other in communities.

“We’re not only trying to de-escalate the situation but get law enforcement at those trainings (with) mental-health people … so they can call once the situation is calmed down so they (people having crises) don’t have to go to jail and cost the county or city money to house them, and

they are put in a bed where they need to be,” Hood said.

The problem for many Mississippians already charged with crimes who want to plead insanity or need mental evaluation is that only a handful of stabilization beds are available for them. The State has a 35-bed forensic unit at Mississippi State Hospital.

Of those beds, 15 are used for men and women charged with crimes who need to be assessed for their competency to stand trial. The other 20 beds are for those Mississippians judges have deemed incompetent to stand trial. The building these people are held in is out of the last century.

“It’s an antiquated facility with Yale locks on the doors,” Hood said last week.

“It’s like you’re walking back in the 1920s era. It’s eerie.”

Hood’s experience echoes what psychiatrist Tom Recore told senators earlier this month when Sen. Hob Bryan, DAmory, held a hearing about the state’s forensic unit. Recore told the Senate Judiciary B Committee that the unit needs a new building, and the Mississippi Department of Mental Health is working on locating a new space or seeing how much it will cost to renovate the current building.

Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, authored the Forensic Mental Health

Act, which the Senate could consider next week. The legislation would allow more providers to examine men and women charged with crimes who need mentalhealth evaluations. Currently, few pro-

“Not only do you become a better CIT officer, you just become a better officer.” viders besides the forensic unit at Whitfield can provide the courts with mental assessments. This legislation would allow courts to contract with more providers, certified by DMH, in addition to ensuring men and women with those needs maintain their constitutional rights.

‘Elephant in the Room’

The state mental health task force is

working to find ways to standardize the system of mental health care from county to county, but Hood emphasized the difficulties the committee will face without funding. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Mississippi in 2016 for its over-reliance on institutions to treat people with mental illnesses instead of treating them in the community. The lawsuit is still ongoing, and if federal and state officials cannot reach an agreement soon, the case will go to trial in early 2019. Hood blamed the Legislature for underfunding DMH for the lawsuit.

“I did end up getting to that point of addressing the kind of elephant in the room with all of us here, and that is funding,” Hood said. “I don’t anticipate having it. They’re not going to do it because some federal court order is going to do it, and I got to defend the state until we get to that point.”

DMH has not asked for additional funding in fiscal-year 2019, however, and the department has said it will move $10 million of its funds to community-based services if the amount it receives is the same as last fiscal year. Whether or not the Legislature will fund DMH at the level DMH requested remains to be seen.

Email state reporter Arielle Dreher at arielle@jacksonfreepress.com.

Unnamed Officers on Paid Leave for Shooting of 21-Year-Old Driver

by Ko Bragg

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

8

Stephen Wilson / file photo

E

arly Saturday morning, two Jackson police officers shot at 21-yearold Crystaline Barnes during a traffic stop in response to a report that Barnes may have forced another motorist off the roadway, but is so far only providing vague information about the deadly incident as well as whether its useof-force policy for moving vehicles meets national guidelines. JPD also did not confirm whether Barnes died of a gunshot or from the collision soon afterward, saying only that she was “fatally wounded.”

The department has, so far, refused to name the officers who fired into the moving vehicle, who are now on paid leave, but has implied that the deceased young woman may have a criminal history. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice advised police departments to release names of officers involved in critical events, including shootings, within 72 hours of the incident.

JPD spokesman Roderick Holmes said the officer that made the stop in the 1400 block of Fernwood Drive called an additional unit for assistance. Barnes al-

Jackson Police Department Interim Police Chief Anthony Moore promised a “thorough” investigation into Crystaline Barnes’ death.

legedly pulled away and did a U-turn “to evade the responding unit,” Holmes said in a statement Saturday.

“(Barnes) later stops and began driving in reverse toward that officer who had exited the patrol vehicle just prior,” the statement reads. “The officer then discharged their weapon into the vehicle before safely jumping out of its path and the suspect’s (sic) vehicle collided with the patrol vehicle.”

Then Holmes said Barnes drove toward the other officer, who also discharged his or her weapon into the vehicle. That’s when Barnes collided with a nearby utility pole just off the roadway.

Both officers are on administrative leave with pay as the internal criminal investigation unfolds. No outside firms are helping with the investigation, but interim Police Chief Anthony Moore said at a press conference at the police department that Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith’s office has been involved with the investigation from the outset.

At the conclusion of the investigation, a Hinds County grand jury will decide whether the officers will face trial, he said.

While the JPD has not released the names of the officers involved in the shooting or even a definite cause of death, Holmes did send out a blurry, disheveled photo of Barnes that appears to be a mugshot, hinting at but not confirming that the deceased woman had been in trouble before.

Moore would not say if the officers had been in police-involved situations in

the past, declining to talk about personnel issues. He also said JPD’s lethal-force policy depends on the situation and that officers have to gauge the situation to determine whether they need to use deadly force.

The national Police Executive Research Forum complains that many police departments ignore federal standards, which The Washington Post reported has led to more than 200 deaths since 2017, including a 15-year-old.

Often, departments get away with loose standards on firing into moving vehicles because the departments investigate themselves, as JPD said it plans to do here.

Still, the new police chief assured Jackson citizens that it will do the right thing in investigating its officers use of force.

“Again this is a tragedy, it is a real tragedy,” Moore said. “Nobody wins in this situation. It’s very unfortunate, but I want to assure the family and I want to assure the public that this investigation is going to be fair, unbiased, and it’s going to be thorough and complete for everyone that’s involved.”

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TALK | state

State Gets ‘B’ for Trafficking Laws

by Ko Bragg

P

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

File Photo

earl Assistant Police Chief Dean Scott pulled out his may sentence them for 30 days for disrupting the family phone in the Mississippi Capitol on Jan. 17 to show peace by running away. just how easy it is to solicit sex from likely trafficked On one hand, Mississippi is credited with improving girls just minutes down the road. its “D”-rated sex trafficking laws in 2013 to receiving a “B”

Scott pulled up Craigslist, a popular classified-advertis- grade this year. However, law enforcement and professioning site that has drawn fire for allowing human-trafficking als like Sandy Middleton of the Center for Violence Preads in the past, on his smartphone’s browser. “You can buy vention in Pearl, who work to end trafficking, agree that anything from a car to a child on it,” Scott said as the site Mississippi has work to do to stop trafficking. opened. “She’s in a motel right there on High Street,” he said, turning his phone around to show an ad of a teenage Sold By Family girl who he sees on Craigslist every day. Her ad says she’s 25, In Mississippi, family members often sell children in but Scott said she just turned 18. what Middleton calls “familial trafficking.” Scott said it is

A lawmaker asked why someone had not already not uncommon for him to see a grandfather “swapping his gone to the spot to make an arrest as law enforcement granddaughter for heroin.” knew what might be

“There may be a happening there. The difficulty of a victim direvolving-door aspect of vulging that they’re being trafficking requires an trafficked by a parent or a inexhaustible effort that family member, but I think many lack the manpowthey’re all difficult situaer to handle efficiently. tions,” Middleton told the

“Everyone I showed Jackson Free Press. you was posted today,”

The recent MissisScott told the Jackson sippi trafficking laws that Free Press after scrollearned passing remarks ing through a seemingly say trafficking victims endless list of phone may not be prosecuted numbers to call for sex for prostitution, regardon Backpage and similess of age. Traffickers are lar listings on Craigslist. required to register as sex Both companies have offenders and are required come under intense fire to pay restitution. for allowing such ads,

However, the law and both say they have does not determine whose removed the ads, with burden it is to uncover Craigslist at one point whether those charged replacing its “Adults with prostitution were Services” link with first trafficked. In federal “Censored.” crackdown operations like

“It’s kind of like Operation Cross Country Sandy Middleton, executive director of the Center stamping out the flu. It’s executed nationwide, law for Violence Prevention in Pearl, wants specialized services for child victims of trafficking and more not going to happen— enforcement often sweeps law-enforcement training. it’s too much money,” up prostitutes along with Scott said. “We’re talking traffickers. about a billion-dollar-a-year industry.”

In October 2017, the Jackson Police Department

Still, had law enforcement gone to pick up the girl arrested 13 individuals during the sweep here, chargScott showed to lawmakers before she turned 18, Child ing 12 of them with prostitution and two of them with Protective Services may well not have come to the scene to additional charges of possession of a firearm and posretrieve the child, leaving officers with one option for her— session of meth and heroin, respectively. The youngest juvenile detention centers. woman arrested was 18 and the oldest 77. One woman’s

If she were in a rural area, like much of the state, charges solely indicated she had “obstructed traffic.” the chances of law enforcement even responding to a call Middleton said at the time, and emphasized her gets even slimmer, Scott said, because they just don’t have point again at the Capitol this month, that law-enforceenough “boots on the ground.” He estimates it takes around ment officers need to be trained to better handle these three or four officers to work a trafficking case. investigations because she believes it is best for them to

Rural districts do not have much choice when they handle everything, rather than depending on social entido not have the manpower to spend all night with the kids ties like CPS. waiting for CPS to show up—and Scott is convinced that “It’s tough when you’ve got a kid, and nobody comes,” they almost never will. Those kids get turned over to a de- Middleton said. “Just like a cop can’t take them to the hos10 tention center, and subsequently youth court where a judge pital; their hands are absolutely tied because of our laws.”

More Training Needed

Scott is a member of the Central Mississippi Human Trafficking Task Force, but says he sources his motivation from his 8-year-old special-needs daughter.

“She’s one of the girls, that when she gets 18, she is going to be easily influenced by someone ... showing her attention that she may not get,” Scott told lawmakers at the Capitol.

Scott said the legislators must ensure that state agencies are doing what they’re supposed to do— especially CPS.

“Because I promise you, I can put y’all in the Tahoe with me, we can go out at 2 in the morning,” Scott said. “… We can get a child in one of these situations, we can call and say we need CPS, and I’ll go buy y’all breakfast, and then we’ll wait—they’re not coming.”

Notably, Sen. Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven, and Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, were in the room. Gipson killed Doty’s domestic-abuse bill last legislative session in committee, not letting members vote on it, before a popular campaign brought the bill back up, and it passed. Middleton awarded Gipson and Doty the 2017 Angel of the Year award from the Center for Violence Prevention on Jan. 18.

Scott said that, often, CPS personnel do not want to go to dangerous locations. He gives the department an “F” in terms of their follow-through in these cases.

Middleton said the system works best when law enforcement handle the cases, especially with CPS’ track record of not showing up.

“It just makes sense to us that law enforcement should investigate ... but we certainly want them to be trained to investigate,” Middleton told the Jackson Free Press about trafficking in the state.

Beyond CPS, judges can have old-school mindsets about what constitutes trafficking, and if they are not trained to learn the differences between sex work and trafficking, the cycle will never end, Scott said.

“So just like the training we’re trying to get for law enforcement, the patrol guys, investigators—these judges need it to,” Scott said. “We’ve got judges on the bench that have no idea what we’re bringing them.

They think a 15-year-old is a prostitute because that’s what she wants to do.”

Email city reporter Ko Bragg at ko@jacksonfreepress. com. Comment on this story at jfp.ms/state.

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Are You Ready for the Big Game?

11

Jackson is the ‘Sole’ of Mississippi

T

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

he soles of our shoes make us feel confident and secure about each step that we take. Inevitably, they need to be repaired, whether it be from years of normal wear and tear, or years of neglect.

Try walking without your soles intact on asphalt or a dirt road, and it can become quite the uncomfortable, annoying experience. Try walking without your soles intact while wearing an evening gown or jogging suit, and the effort is futile, nonsensical and counterproductive. Jackson is the sole of Mississippi—and, Mississippi, we are uncomfortable.

Jackson is the only city in Mississippi referred to as the “capital,” the only one with a star or some symbol that indicates its presence on a map, the largest city in our state, and the city that hosts the Mississippi Capitol. Jackson is special. As much as some would like to throw out the whole shoe, Jackson’s sole is built strong and solid.

It could use some repairs, though.

At some point, everyone in the area has to travel to or through Jackson to access people, programs or services. We have a bond, by default.

We are all kinfolk who are wearing the same shoe. So what do we do, Jackson? What do we do, Mississippi? Do we fix the sole? Sure, let’s fix the sole because we have a lot more miles to cover and too many great opportunities to discover.

If we take the lesson from the recent opening of the Two Mississippi Museums, with special attention to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, we understand that the voices and choices of the past have really affected us. Let’s be honest: We are all or have been victims of Mississippi’s history.

But we work with intentionality to gain the traction needed to remain viable. We move on with the knowledge, confidence and energy to make Mississippi a new, respected, competitive showcase of a state.

Jackson is our foundation, though. It’s where the world stops to look first—from the soles of our state on up.

Education, economic development, tourism, community empowerment, race relations, We have poverty, at-risk people—we face challenges in a lot more it all. But Jackson cannot fight for its rightful place without arming itself for battle, or withmiles to out a surplus of weapons from our allies. cover and

For once, we can all be in the same war and on the same side. too many

My personal commitment is to walk with great Jackson. To want, in my heart, for Jackson to do better, to be perceived better, to be better. opportunities

To act genuinely proud to be a part of to discover.

Jackson, to speak with a smile here, to dissuade distrust here, to lift up the downtrodden here, to stay and pray here, to shop, sip, dine and shine here.

To listen to my fellow Jacksonians in an effort to capture a unified yet diverse perspective, to prompt and facilitate discussion not only about what our potential is as a city, but about what our actual power is right in this moment.

To know that Mississippi really wants Jackson to do well because to know that Jackson is loved is to expect that we do not have to fight alone. To know that Jackson is respected is to expect that we, ourselves, appreciate the alliances we have made and the resources that we continue to accumulate.

Mississippians can walk together, and Jackson’s sole will ensure that we can stand upright, progress and be recognized.

Pam Confer is a professional speaker, writer and jazz musician whose song “Mississippi Beautiful” is featured in the “Where Do We Go From 12 Here?” exhibit at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

City Contracting Is a Mess, Must Be Repaired

I

t didn’t take two women who can’t get payment for hauling nasty sludge from a wastewater-treatment plant to convince the Jackson Free Press that the City’s contracting system is a mess, and ripe for abuse and corruption. In many ways, city contracts are Jackson’s third rail; no one really wants to touch it because it is (a) dense and confusing, even to many reporters, (b) shrouded in secrecy, (c) lucrative to many local contractors, white or not, (d) a source of campaign cash for candidates and (e) a perfect place to hide pay-offs and collusion.

All of that is why we are thrilled that city reporter Ko Bragg has jumped headfirst into the sludge, so to speak. Her cover story this issue is only the first of what we anticipate to be many stories about the historic problems of Jackson’s city contracting—which are common in other places, too—and what must happen to fix it.

We say “must” because the system right now is unfair and probably broken to the bone. Yes, we agree with the idea of minority contractors getting and keeping lucrative contracts and their payouts in Jackson. We need the money, the jobs and the tax base. But as with other broken systems in the capital city, this can no longer be done in an unfair, haphazard, lackadaisical, maybe even corrupt way.

As Socrates Garrett points out accurately to Ko, more local minority contractors need to learn to build capacity, to buy equipment, learn how to use it right and run viable businesses. That is how to build wealth—not transferring part of a primary

contractor’s huge haul to a minority pass-through subcontractor without capacity. That does not help the City and is not a responsible use of the taxpayers’ money. As you’ll see in Ko’s cover story, it is often the people at the end of the chain, doing the dirtiest work, who end up screwed the worst.

This has to end.

The City must focus immediately on repairing the contracting problem it inherited. It has never been a clean process, whether under white administrations or under the more recent black leaders.

That does not mean that every person who benefitted has been corrupt; it does mean that the system is broken and too few people have tried to fix it.

It cannot be a payoff system for campaign support, nor can contractors who owns trucks and tractors) e pushed aside for someone who promises to do the work but can’t. That helps no one other than, let’s be honest, lawyers and, in some cases, primary contractors who might take the money and run.

This is a systemic problem that requires a systemic plan. The City of Jackson must, must, must look at other cities that have repaired their contracting systems for ideas. The public must demand complete transparency on every level (like to view all the contracts in the Veolia chain). We cannot be shut out of a process that determines whether our water, sewers and roads are workable, and we must know exactly what and who our money funds.

We will be watching, City (and you, too, State). Start repairing this mess now.

Email letters and opinion to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019 or mail to 125 South Congress St., Suite 1324, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, as well as factchecked.

Adofo Minka

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Amber Helsel State Reporter Arielle Dreher City Reporter Ko Bragg JFP Daily Editor Dustin Cardon Music Editor Micah Smith Events Editor Rebecca Hester Features and Social Media Intern ShaCamree Gowdy Writers Brynn Corbello, Richard Coupe, Bryan Flynn,William Kelly III, Mike McDonald, Greg Pigott, Julie Skipper, Abigail Walker Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Art Director Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Zilpha Young Staff Photographer Stephen Wilson ADVERTISING SALES Digital Marketing Specialist Meghan Garner Sales and Marketing Consultant Stephen Wright Sales Assistant Cassandra Acker BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Distribution Manager Richard Laswell Distribution Raymond Carmeans, Clint Dear, Ruby Parks,Tommy Smith Assistant to the CEO Inga-Lill Sjostrom ONLINE Web Editor Dustin Cardon Web Designer Montroe Headd CONTACT US: Letters letters@jacksonfreepress.com Editorial editor@jacksonfreepress.com Queries submissions@jacksonfreepress.com Listings events@jacksonfreepress.com Advertising ads@jacksonfreepress.com Publisher todd@jacksonfreepress.com News tips news@jacksonfreepress.com Fashion style@jacksonfreepress.com Jackson Free Press 125 South Congress Street, Suite 1324 Jackson, Mississippi 39201 Editorial (601) 362-6121 Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com

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The Jackson Free Press welcomes thoughtful opinions. The views expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc. © Copyright 2017-2018 Jackson Free Press Inc. All Rights Reserved

R

ecently, the Jackson City Coun- new water-treatment facility in west Rankin cil dropped its appeal to block the could spell economic doom for Jackson. It West Rankin Utility Authority from also increases the likelihood that the City building its own wastewater facility will have its water and sewer system taken in lieu of using Jackson’s Savanna Street over and privatized. treatment plant. Public Works Director Miller has stated, “I subscribe to that Bob Miller made this recommendation as theory that if you find yourself in a hole, a “good faith” appeal to show Jackson will stop digging.” However, Miller’s decision be a better service provider. may very well bury Jackson in that hole.

The council’s willingness to follow The city abandoning its appeal his lead is troubling. He has had less than against the WRUA constitutes a surrender three months of experience to navigate the in a political and economic struggle over tumultuous terrain that is the City’s and any municipality’s most valued resource: its Rankin County’s relationship on this issue. water system. The City waged its struggle City council members should know bet- through a costly legal battle. Jackson has ter in this regard. From the start, Rankin spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on County officials have made it clear that any an expert from Virginia law firm Aqualaw, arrangement that does not include sharing in addition to any other litigation costs. control of the facility’s operation and by This is money gone down the drain. extension, its resources, with the WRUA Despite Jackson abandoning its apis a non-starter. Without any proof that peal, the countersuit for breach of contract Jackson’s “good faith” that WRUA filed against overture will change the the City remains. It alleges WRUA’s position, dropThis should have that the Savanna Street ping the appeal is a pofacility has overcharged been a question the authority for sludge litically naïve gamble and a waste of city resources. removal, which the EPA that the City took consent decree mandates.

To describe the haggling over Jackson’s water The WRUA continto the people. system between Rankin ues its plans to build a County and the City as new treatment facility. Its contentious is an underactions show a disinterest statement. In the past, the City has argued in negotiations or an amicable resolution. that the WRUA’s proposal is an attempt to They also demonstrate a power struggle in take control of Jackson’s water treatment which Jackson has folded. If the authority facility. It has also raised concerns about does not drop this countersuit, that means the economic and ecological impact a new more litigation costs for Jackson. Did the facility would have on the Jackson metro City surmise this before dismissing its lawarea. Conversely, the WRUA has insinu- suit? We will never know because the City ated that the City’s unwillingness to share did not consult the people in its decision. control represents a monopoly of power The way in which the City handled and resources. Rankin County officials this ordeal highlights a failure of represenhave also voiced concerns regarding Jack- tative democracy. Elected and appointed son’s ability to competently operate and officials’ decision on this matter will have maintain the Savanna Street facility by cit- an enduring impact on Jackson’s residents. ing the Environmental Protection Agency Officials should not have made a decision consent decree that requires improvements in executive sessions and closed-door meetto the city’s wastewater management. ings. This should have been a mass ques At the heart of the acrimony between tion that the City took to the people.

Rankin County and Jackson is a struggle Mayor Lumumba was fond of sayfor economic self-determination and pow- ing, “When I become mayor, you become er. Having absolute control over its own mayor,” during his campaign. To make water system provides Jackson with a level that a reality, the City must incorporate of self-sufficiency. The WRUA alone pays the people-centered principles of equity, $5 million to have the Savanna Street fa- accountability, transparency, participation cility treat its water. Building a new facility and universality in its decisions. This is the will provide Rankin County with a new only way to ensure that Jackson becomes revenue stream and the ability to court the most radical city on the planet and that other cities that use Jackson’s facility. Given the people have real power. the difficulties that the City has had with Adofo Minka is a human defense lawyer complying with the EPA’s consent decree, a who lives in West Jackson.

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The Battle for Water and Control in Jackson

13

Good Faith, Bad Faith:

City Contract Controversies Explode … Again

A

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

gate complaints about the company and a subcontractor. At its first meeting of 2018, Veolia’s legal counsel and some employees showed up, and the council voted to release funds to the company. That was the same meeting Gaddis and Gandy came to speak on the record about Fisher Construction not paying them.

Turns out, Fisher had his own allegations about payment that escalated into a hearing in front of the City’s Equal Business Opportunity board on Jan. 12, where Fisher passed the blame back up the chain to Veolia. He claimed the company had only paid him $700,000 of the approximately $1.4 million for which he said he was contracted, and that was why he had not paid the women more money.

Web of Confusion

Fisher’s, Gandy’s and Gaddis’ allegations highlight the complicated web of contractors with the City Jackson and the problems that result despite the City’s policies to help minority businesses grow.

Stephen Wilson

rneedra Smith-Gaddis “(Fisher) kept saying that Veolia hadn’t seemed nervous when paid him and (was) the reason we hadn’t got she stepped to the mi- paid, so I knew there was something fishy crophone in City Hall about that,” she said. When she returned on Jan. 3, but Bridgette to her seat, she looked at her husband and Gandy looked more asked if she had done a good job. They composed. The two nodded together, and she sat back on the women subcontrac- wooden benches in the council chambers tors were there, separately, to tell the Jack- to listen in on the rest of the meeting. son City Council that a local construction Gandy was up next. She owns her own company had cheated them out of money environmental consulting business and told paid through a municipal contract. the council that Fisher had only paid her

“It’s been so many rumors and lies,” $12,000 for five months of work, although Smith-Gaddis said to the council. her contract was for $10,000 a month. The

Both women complained that Renna JFP did not confirm that number because Fisher of Fisher Construction and his busi- the City did not return a public-records reness partner and vice president, Jacqueline quest by press time.

Andrews, had not paid them each tens of “It’s disheartening for me, too, bethousands of dollars. cause (Fisher and Williams) took me under

(Andrews is listed on the secretary of their wings, me being a minority company, state’s business directory as Jacqueline Wil- a woman trying to grow,” Gandy said. “I liams, but was not present in City Hall.) thought I was doing something great, do Fisher Construction is a subcontractor ing something great for the City of Jackson for the larger Mass.-based company, Veolia working for Veolia.”

North America - South, LLC. In October Though the women said they did 2016, the council approved a $10,930,464 contract with Veolia to manage and operate Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba wants Jackson’s wastewaterto develop a contract compliance treatment plants to enoffice to oversee City contracts. sure compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s consent decree with the City to improve wastewater-treatment practices, which at one time included dumping untreated wastewater into the Pearl River.

Smith-Gaddis and her husband, Cornelius, both work on trucks hauling sludge out of the Savanna Street Wastewater Treatment Plant in Jackson. At the Jan. 3 not know each other prior to the meetmeeting, she told the council that Fisher ing, their shared testimony was the second Construction owes her family $20,000. public signal that something was up with The Jackson Free press requested the sub- the Veolia contract. contracts under Fisher, but the City did not The first hint came late last year when release these documents by press time. She the city council voted to withhold Veolia’s prefaced her three-minute speech with the funds from the claims docket at its Dec. 14 disclaimer that she was not the best talker. 19 meeting until it could further investi-

by Ko Bragg

Companies bidding for contracts must include an equal business opportunity plan with the breakdown of the percentages of Asian-owned, African American owned, Hispanic-owned, Native American-owned and women-owned businesses that will help carry out the work. This process is written into Jackson’s ordinances as a protection for

those groups historically left out of business deals. Veolia is one such company that committed to “exceed” the city’s minority and female enterprise contracting goals.

The prime contractor—the larger company seeking the contract with Jackson—can employ minority-owned businesses as subcontractors, suppliers, joint ventures or mentor-protégé programs. If a subcontractor or supplier is not performing, the prime contractor is supposed to replace the subcontractor with another minority-owned business.

Jackson officials tend to break down the City’s commitment to helping minority-owned businesses secure participation in public contracts with analogies.

Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. equates it to shopping locally: “Hiring locals is our version of shopping local, making sure we look out for small businesses, specifically disadvantaged, minority-owned businesses,” he said.

The mayor likens the practice to simple economics—you have to provide jobs and help businesses that reflect the population. “If 85 percent of the population is lefthanded, you need left-handed jobs,” he said to reporters following a press conference on EBO practices on Jan. 23.

Equal business opportunity plans are admirable—in theory, they ensure that contracts benefit people other than the white men who traditionally get them. But, if no one is reviewing contracts after the ink dries, then everyone is operating on the assumption that large companies are operating in good faith without verification.

“We see people at the beginning of the process when it’s all ‘Kumbaya,’ and we’re working together,” Priester said. “It’s only when the contracts reach a boiling point that we are called in to referee. But, this is why we have courts.”

In the Jan. 23 press conference at City Hall, the mayor uncharacteristically read from a prepared statement defending the City’s EBO policy and how it serves subcontractors, presumably to ensure he checked the right legal boxes.

“[W]e have been clear that our objective and stated goal is to ultimately achieve 60-percent boots on ground being Jacksonians, and 50 percent of the subcontracting makeup being minority firms,” Mayor Lumumba said.

But there’s also the reality that many minority-owned businesses do not have the capacity to take on jobs the City is trying to fill—such as owning trucks or tractors; having adequate staff; keeping good accounting. The City’s EBO policy should help these businesses develop that capacity.

Disputes within chains of municipal contractors including primes and subs are not unusual in Jackson, and the lack of transparency often keeps a broken system

City has to be sure it can legally insert itself.

In Fisher’s instance, he did agree that “there are some issues that should have been addressed,” but did not elaborate further.

At the same meeting, Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks went as far as to allege past collusion within the City’s public works administration on contract work, and then pushed for a disparity study to learn exactly what is getting what contracts. “We’ve got to tighten up,” Banks said. “And I said col-

Arneedra Smith-Gaddis said she had not been paid $20,000 for sludge-hauling work when she addressed the City Council on Jan. 3.

he provide the tools, labor or equipment to perform adequately, Lamontagne said.

At the hearing, Fisher said he wanted to do work for Veolia in the future. However, Owens said the relationship is “irretrievably broken” because he believes Fisher breached his contract on several terms, including hiring subcontractors to fulfill contracted work he promised to do—a standalone breach compounded by allegations that Fisher did not then pay those subcontractors in full.

The Jackson Free Press filed a publicrecords request with the City on Jan. 18 for the contracts between Veolia and Fisher and any subcontractors, but the City has not provided those documents.

About a week after the EBO hearing, some employees from Fisher Construction as well as Fisher and one of his attorneys, Regina (Quinn) May, spoke to the city council at its Jan. 18 meeting.

May said Veolia had shut out Fisher from doing work, and while she was satisfied with the EBO hearing, she wanted to provide the council members with his side of the story.

Fisher brought a box of papers filled with haul tickets as proof of his “good work” over the years. He called Veolia pushing him out “distasteful” and referenced Martin Luther King Jr.

“(King) paid the price, but now here I am a minority contractor, and I can’t even work in the city that I live in, it’s not fair … the days of the past is over,” he said.

In response, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba said he believes there are instances when minority firms get “hustled,” but the

lusion, and I believe it’s going on.”

Priester, an attorney, edged the conversation to a close because of the legal risk of speaking about the Veolia and Fisher circumstances in a public forum. “We’re having a generalized discussion about what should be the policy of the City, while faced with a very specific case of a contract between the City and a contract between a prime and a subprime,” Priester said.

“This is one of those areas where this is not the forum for this, it just isn’t. And all I care about as a city council person is making sure we don’t let the mistake of having fights in the wrong forum prevent us from getting the outcome that is best for the citizens of Jackson.”

Banks, who was present for part of the EBO hearing, shamed the practice of minority-owned businesses pitting themselves against each other. “My question is why is it until after Fisher files a grievance with Veolia does everyone have complaints?” Banks said.

Lumumba echoed Banks’ sentiments about bickering minority firms weeks later at a Jan. 23 press conference held specifically to address EBO and contracting policies. “Some privileged minority firms also choose not to support the mission and objectives of our minority contracting process and do not genuinely support one another,” Lumumba said at the presser.

While the working contract between Veolia and Fisher is likely beyond repair, they both agreed to let the City’s EBO board mediate the dispute. Director of Public Works Bob Miller, the mayor’s Chief of Staff Safiya Omari, Chief Administrative

Officer Robert Blaine and Nakesha Watkins of the city attorney’s office all sit on the board with Director of Planning and Development Mukesh Kumar as its chairman. The EBO office moved back under the direction of the planning department in recent weeks.

Now all parties involved await a decision from the mayor about how to proceed with mediating the companies’ disputes, slated to arrive by Friday, Feb. 2.

Tangled Water Contracts

The City’s public-contracting woes long predate Veolia. In 2008, the City did not initially want to give a contract to United Water Services Mississippi, but the company challenged the City in court and won, locking the City into a costly contract. United Water’s proposal was between $1.83 million and $2.6 million over five years, while Jackson Water Partners’ final proposed contract would have cost between $2.6 million and $3.4 million, the JFP previously reported.

Then-Public Works Director Thelman Boyd—now the vice president of municipal contractor Mac & Associates— wanted to go with Jackson Water Partners because it had previously worked for the City. Socrates Garrett, a local businessman who would later support Tony Yarber for mayor, then formed Jackson Water Partners, alongside Severn Trent Services.

In its lawsuit, United Water alleged that the city violated state law by disclosing its bid and giving Jackson Water Partners an opportunity to beat it.

United Water won the contract with the City through Oct. 31, 2015.

Because of the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba’s unexpected death, the search for a new wastewater-treatment plant operator fell to the Yarber administration.

The old deal with United Water was a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, meaning United Water got a fixed fee for work it did plus a bonus if it spent less than budgeted.

United Water’s contract did not provide for any of the work requirements in the consent decree, which came about midway through the United contract.

Overall, the fixed-rate Veolia contract was a better deal for the City.

By the time the Veolia proposal landed in the council’s lap, its members might have already felt the effects of contract fatigue.

Yarber came into office in 2014, with the support of Garrett, who had contributed at least $30,000 to the campaign—a third of which was a loan. About a half-year into Yarber’s tenure, a solicitation for a bio-solids management firm went out. The choices for council were Denali Water Solutions working with Garrett locally as a venture partner,

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Veolia vs. Fisher

The City’s Equal Business Opportunity Board held an afternoon hearing for Veolia and Fisher Construction on Friday, Jan. 12. Fisher claimed the contractor promised to pay him approximately $1.4 million, but he says he has only received around $700,000 to date. His lawyers contend that Fisher relied on that $1.4 million “to his detriment,” and that he has not been able to pay his own workers as a result—such as Gandy and the Gaddises.

“There’s been a steady stream, a drip, drip, drip of what I submit are bad-faith communications from Veolia for various reasons,” said one of Fisher’s lawyers, Wilson Carroll of Jackson.

Veolia’s legal representative, Bobby Owens, told the EBO board that Fisher “absolutely” would have gotten paid closer to that amount if it had not been so rainy last year because the company could have paid him to do land application—the process of taking sludge from wastewater plants and repurposing it as fertilizer. This cannot take place when it is raining outside because of the risk of toxic runoff.

“It was close to the wettest year in history,” Owens said. “Land application is about half of the contract. The more land he applies, the more he gets paid—I’ll just stop there.”

A spokesperson in Boston for Veolia

said the company “had no choice” but to end their relationship with Fisher, whom they since replaced with a different minority-owned business, Four Seasons Enterprises of Jackson. John Lamontagne of Veolia said the company advanced Fisher money at the start of the contract with the understanding that he would lease the equipment required to perform the work. But, at least

by Veolia’s standards, Fisher did not remove caked sludge in a timely manner, nor did

Stephen Wilson

out of view of the taxpayers whose money is in dispute. That means the public is often not aware of many of the controversies surround the same players, whether what the city allowed in contracts, the amounts of taxpayer money paid to primes and subs, or who does or does not do the actual work.

The big dollars at the top of the City contracting food chain may not always make it down to the people who are doing the work. The most publicly contentious disputes have been over contracts signed to respond to the City’s 2012 consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Siemens Industry Inc. is another large company working on the consent decree. It oversees new water meters in Jackson, but with customers complaining about water bills in the thousands, the city council authorized a lawsuit against the company at its Jan. 18 meeting.

“All of this stuff ties together with our wastewater treatment—the Siemens contract, the consent decree with EPA is linked together,” Priester said. “All these different companies play their own role in helping Jackson rise or move forward.”

more Controversies, see page 16 15

Contract Controversies from page 15

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Stephen Wilson

or Baltimore-based Synagro-WWT Inc. Garrett team, which included the mayor’s working with Fisher Construction. campaign-finance chairman, although the

After The Northside Sun published a competing proposal from Synagro-Fisher story titled “City Allegedly Steering Bid to was more than $1,000,000 less and reMajor Contributor,” Yarber told the coun- ceived a superior rating from the evaluation cil that his staff was not responsible to any committee,” Coleman’s lawsuit claims. “contractor past” or ensuring they get work Then-Public Works Director Kishia with the City. Garrett agreed in a telephone Powell and Consent Decree Attorney Terinterview this week. rell Williamson were named in the lawsuit

“Contracts are not something that for making “disparaging statements” about you can be entitled to,” Garrett said in the the Synagro-Fisher team to “discredit” the Jan. 29 phone conversation. “… What I’m strength of their proposal. Powell would entitled to is to have an opportunity in a deny in an interview with the Jackson Free fair, competitive environment to win or Press that they had changed the scoring lose based upon my merits.” criteria with Powell saying directly that “I

Ultimately, after a great deal of contro- don’t steer” contracts. versy, the council voted not to approve the Denali-Garrett proposal on Sept. 17, 2015, and days later, Bridgette Gandy, an Yarber pulled the contract from environmental consultant, also told the city council consideration. The United Water on Jan. 3 that Fisher contract was extended a calendar Construction owes her year to give the City more time to money for work she did do the proposal process again. under their Veolia contract.

Meantime, a lawsuit was brewing. Stephanie L. Coleman, whom Yarber appointed as the City’s equal opportunity business manager in January 2015, filed suit against the City, Yarber and several John Does in February 2017. Coleman claims her immediate supervisor asked for sexual favors so she could keep her job. She also said she had discovered a “pay-to-play” scheme to steer city con- In September 2015, Powell told the tracts, and alleged that her refusal to partici- council that Synagro-Fisher’s proposal pate in the game cost her the job. lacked detail and “lessened our confidence

Yarber denies all allegations, and the in the price they proposed, nor did it inditrial is set for June 18, 2018, in Judge Hen- cate a disposal fee with landfills or specific ry Wingate’s courtroom in Jackson. transportation routes. “One team laid out a

The lawsuit named Atlanta business- specific proposal with travel estimated times woman Mitzi Bickers as a friend of Yar- and mileage, which gave us more confiber’s and a campaign donor who allegedly dence in that proposal,” Powell said about told Coleman “that the mayor wanted to the Denali-Garrett proposal in 2015. express his gratitude for her service by al- Garrett now points to the unfairness lowing her to participate in a few upcoming of targeting his proposal, making it clear major contracts,” the lawsuit reads. that he believes it was because he sup Bickers felt entitled to the EPA con- ported Yarber’s election. “Is that an issue if sent-decree management contract with a someone is contributing to a candidate of partner of her choosing, and she needed your choice?” Garrett told the Jackson Free Coleman to make the paperwork look Press. “Should everybody that contributes good enough so she could get it, Coleman to a candidate of their choice be eliminated claims in the suit, which represents one side from participating in economics, contracts? of a legal dispute. But Coleman said she did That’s a new rule? Or is it just a rule that not find Bickers qualified or experienced applies to those that you don’t like?” enough to handle the projects.

While Jackson is a capital city, it some Coleman also sat in on the evalu- times has a small-town feel. Its contract and ation committees that weighed the De- water issues, and associated people, are no nali-Garrett proposals with those from exception. Wilson Carroll represents ColeSynagro-Fisher. “The scoring criteria was man in her lawsuit against the City, which changed and scoring sheets were altered to is ongoing, and he has long been the co16 justify awarding the contract to the Denali- counsel for Fisher Construction.

From Flint to Jackson

Jackson and Flint, Mich., share several similarities. They’re predominately black, have similar-sized populations, struggle with aging pipes and shrinking budgets and have contracted with the same water company, Veolia North America, in different capacities.

One day after news broke about lead in a university’s water, the City of Flint announced it had hired “urban water experts” from Veolia to assess how the water was tested and distributed and offer a full review of the system. The March 2015 report finds that “aging cast-iron pipe has compounded the situation,” and the company provided a list of recommendations and estimated costs of the next necessary steps.

As the finger-pointing, legal accusations and investigations intensified over the next year, Michigan Attorney General Bill

Schuette filed a lawsuit in June 2016 against Veolia as well as Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc., a company brought in to address water issues, for allegedly making matters worse in Flint.

Schuette accused Veolia of making fraudulent statements regarding the safety of Flint’s water supply, which allegedly “caused widespread exposure to lead and resulting lead poisoning.”

Veolia’s March 2015 report said the water in Flint was in compliance with federal and state regulations. Flint followed Veolia’s recommendations to protect pipes from corrosion, and Schuette alleges in the lawsuit that these practices “continued and worsened” the Flint water crisis.

The day after the lawsuits were filed, Veolia called the allegations “outrageous.”

When Veolia raised potential lead and copper issues, city officials and representatives silenced them and told them to exclude it from the scope of their work, the statement says. Veolia also said that the Governor’s Task Force exonerated it from any involvement in the Flint water crisis.

The state’s lawsuit against Veolia was dismissed without prejudice in December

2016. However, in a different federal lawsuit against Flint and Michigan state officials, the judge is allowing plaintiffs to bring negligence claims against Veolia, the Flint Journal reported.

In the midst of this controversy, the City of Jackson was taking the steps that ultimately led to Veolia winning the $10million contract. The Yarber-era council received four proposals, and after Veolia tied with American Water Enterprises for the number-one proposal, the council chose Veolia. Even if the council members did not like the open lawsuits against Veolia, they chose the best rate, preferring not to face another United Water debacle.

Seeking Solutions

Socrates Garrett had contracts with Jackson for decades, and now “not a dime” of his income comes from City deals, he says. Garrett believes he was pushed out “systematically” because he chose to support Yarber.

Beyond the politics, Garrett’s thoughts about the City’s EBO mirror the current administration’s belief that there are no “teeth” in the program, only rhetoric. For him, the top priority is to assist and mentor minority businesses into being able to add needed capacity so tax dollars stay in Jackson.

“It’s not just an individual problem of a business person because he doesn’t have capacity,” Garrett told the JFP. “It affects everybody. It affects the schools; it affects the streets. Do you like the streets you ride on?

The conditions of the schools? … If you don’t like what you got, you need to recruit businesses….”

Public Works Director Bob Miller said he has not yet determined what his office will do with contracts, nor has he had time to consider it with water-main breaks dominating the entire month of January.

The mayor has said the City needs a contract compliance office because to date the City has done a poor job in following up, he said. “Subcontractors often find themselves operating in environments where majority firms take advantage of loopholes and wilfully fail to operate in good faith,” he said in a Jan. 23 open letter on EBO standards.

Lumumba said the contract office would need to be more than just one or two people dealing with the amount of contracts the City has entered.

“Having one person in a room that is peeking at a stack that is taller than this ceiling will never reap the benefit of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Lumumba said on Dec. 19.“I think that’s too daunting of a task for one individual to accomplish.”

Kind of like a woman hauling sludge and not getting paid for it.

Email city reporter Ko Bragg at ko@ jacksonfreepress.com. Visit jfp.ms/contracting.

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Many restaurants, bars and other venues around Jackson will be hosting events on Sunday, Feb. 4, in honor of Super Bowl LII, which will see the New England Patriots try for their sixth win under coach Bill Belichick.

T

he Super Bowl is one of the biggest events of the year for the three Fs: football, fandom and food.

You may be one of the many viewers cheering on the New England Patriots or the Philadelphia Eagles from the comfort of a cozy couch, but there are plenty of options for those who prefer watching among friends and fellow fans in the Jackson metro area.

Here are just a few places in the capital city where you can grab a bite to eat, a beer to drink and a good seat for Super Bowl LII this Sunday, Feb. 4.

Longtime favorite and newly reinstated Best of Jackson winner Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St.) will be hosting a free screening of the game with food specials and dollar-off drinks from 5 p.m. to midnight.

Lucky Town Brewing Company (1710 N. Mill St.) will be also open its doors free of charge from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. to show the game, during which guests can purchase craft beer from the brewery and bring their own food.

Pop’s Saloon (2636 Gallatin St.) will also be screening the game this Sunday for free on a 12-square-foot high-definition projector from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., with beer bucket specials and free food while supplies last.

Over at The State Room (952 N. State St.), football fans can enjoy food, a cash bar, raffles, football squares and music from DJ Frathouse at a Super Bowl viewing party from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Partygoers can purchase their tickets for

$10 each at eventbrite.com.

If you plan on emphasizing food as much as football, there’s the Super Bowl RSVP Party at Hops & Habanas (2771 Old Canton Road) from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. In addition to showing the game, the bar and beer shop will be offering a full buffet, along with beer specials, door prizes, a corn-hole tournament and more. For just the buffet and admission, the price is $20, but there is also a $45 VIP package that comes with the buffet, three pints of beer and a La Flor Dominicana cigar. Visit hopsandhabanas.com to purchase your ticket.

Lastly, the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive) will be hosting The Salvation Army’s “Souper Bowl XXI.� This is admittedly a bit of a cheat as the fundraiser takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., well ahead of the Super Bowl, but anyone wanting to get psyched up for the big game with an even bigger meal should look into it.

A collection of local restaurants, including Aladdin Mediterranean Grill, Georgia Blue, The Iron Horse Grill, Hal & Mal’s, Primos CafÊ, Anjou Restaurant, Campbell’s Bakery and more, will be serving up unlimited bowls of soup and desserts for patrons. The event will also include a silent auction, live entertainment and special guests. Tickets are $25 per adult and $10 per child age 12 and under. For more information, call 601-982-4881 or visit salvationarmy.org/jackson.

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THURSDAY 2/1

SATURDAY 2/3

SUNDAY 2/4

Yappy Hour is at Fondren Public.

“The Suite Sweet Life of Jackson II” is at 201Capitol.

The Super Bowl RSVP Party is at Hops & Habanas.

BEST BETS Jan. 31 Feb. 7, 2018

The Unframed at New Stage production of Ramona King’s “Steal Away” is Feb. 1-2 at Warehouse Theatre.

History Is Lunch is from noon to 1 p.m. at Two Mississippi Museums (222 North St.) in Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium. Guest speakers Cathy Shropsire and Libby Hartfield discuss the book “Fannye Cook: Mississippi’s Pioneering Conservationist.” Free admission; call 601-5766998; email info@mdah.ms.gov; mdah.ms.gov.

courtesy New Stage theatre

WEDNESDAY 1/31

THURSDAY 2/1

ourtesy Melody Washington

“Steal Away” is at 7:30 p.m. at Warehouse Theatre (1000 Monroe St.). Ramona King’s farce is about church ladies who raise funds to send young black women to college by robbing a bank. The production is part of the Unframed at New Stage Theatre series. Recommended for teens and adults. Additional date: Feb. 2, 7:30 p.m. $10 admission; call 601-948-3533, ext. 236; find it on Facebook.

Night is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Highland Village (4500 Interstate 55 N. Frontage Road). The adults-only trivia night is themed “The Game of Love” and features prizes for first- and second-place teams, best team name and most spirited team. Includes a free beer or popsicle from Deep South Pops for participants. Free; find it on Facebook.

SATURDAY 2/3

The JXN Natural Hair Expo is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The

by Rebecca Hester event includes hair-product vendors, styling demonstrations, live entertainment, and guest speakers jacksonfreepress.com such as Melody Washington, Tosi Fax: 601-510-9019 Ufodike, Towanda Simmons and Daily updates at more. $7 admission, $15 exclusive jfpevents.com pass; eventbrite.com. … “Pops II: Stop in the Name of Love” is from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Las Vegas vocal quartet Radiance perform a concert of R&B hits from the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and more. $18-$52; msorchestra.com.

party food available for purchase, desserts and other more. $25 adults, $10 ages 12 and under; call 601-982-4881; salvationarmyjackson.org.

MONDAY 2/5

The Jay Farrar Duo performs at 7:30 p.m. at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The alternative-country singersongwriter is best known for his work with Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. $20 in advance, $25 at the door; call 877-987-6487; ardenland.net.

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

events@ TUESDAY 2/6

Melody Washington is one of the guest presenters for the JXN Natural Hair Expo, which takes place Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Jackson Medical Mall.

FRIDAY 2/2

The “Love and Donuts” opening reception at 6:30 p.m. at Jax-Zen Float (155 Wesley Ave.). Artist Will Brooks of JellyDonut Studio shares a collection of donut-inspired digital drawings and watercolors. Free admission; call 60120 691-1697; find it on Facebook. … The Village Social Trivia

SUNDAY 2/4

Souper Bowl XXI is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive). The Salvation Army event includes unlimited soup from local restaurants, a silent auction, a tailgate tent with

“Mississippi Environmental Geology: A New Book” is at noon at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). The speaker is David Dockery, director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and author of “The Geology of Mississippi.” $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for ages 3-18; mdwfp.com.

WEDNESDAY 2/7

The National Black HIV/Aids Awareness Day Lunch & Learn is from noon to 1 p.m. at BOL by Eme’s (550 High St.). My Brother’s Keeper Inc. hosts the event, which features a panel of advocates, experts and people whom HIV has impacted discussing myths surrounding the illness, the challenges of living with HIV in Jackson and solutions. Lunch is provided. Registration required. Free admission; call 769-216-2455; email dabdulhaqq@mbk-inc.org; find it on Facebook.

Premier Wedding Show Feb. 1, 5-8 p.m., at The Ivy Venue (1170 Luckney Road, Flowood).

Includes vendors, cake tastings, live models showing bridal fashion, food, drinks, giveaways and more. $15 in advance, $20 day of event, VIP $50; call 601-957-1050; find it on Facebook.

Mississippi Dyslexia Centers Symposium Feb. 2, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at New Summit School (1417 Lelia Drive). The event features speakers such as Pamela Tebow, vendors, informational breakout sessions and more. Breakfast and lunch provided. $45; msdyslexiacenter.com.

Repticon Jackson Reptile & Exotic Animal Show Feb. 3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Feb. 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Wahabi Shrine Center (4123 Interstate 55 S.). Features animal seminars, demonstrations, vendors and more. $15 two-day pass, $5 ages 5-12, free age 4 and under; repticon.com.

JXN Natural Hair Expo Feb. 3, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall Foundation (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The event includes hair-product vendors, styling demonstrations, entertainment, and guest speakers. $7 admission, $15 exclusive pass; eventbrite.com.

FOOD & DRINK The Suite Sweet Life of Jackson II Feb. 3, 7-11 p.m., at 201Capitol (201 W. Capitol St.).

Includes dessert vendors from around the Jackson metro area showing off their latest creations. $5 admission; eventbrite.com.

Souper Bowl XXI Feb. 4, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive). The event includes unlimited soup, a silent auction, a tent with party food available for purchase, and more. $25 adults, $10 ages 12 and under; salvationarmyjackson.org.

SPORTS & WELLNESS So You Think You Can Fish? Feb. 3, 10 a.m.1 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). Visitors of all ages learn more about fishing techniques and fish biology from anglers and scientists. Includes crafts, a touch tank and more. $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for ages 3-18; mdwfp.com.

Super Bowl Party Feb. 4, 4-11 p.m., at Lucky Town Brewing Company (1710 N. Mill St.).

Includes a screening of the football game, beer for sale, games and more. Guests can bring food.

Free admission; find it on Facebook.

Pop’s Super Bowl Party Feb. 4, 4-11:30 p.m., at Pop’s Saloon (2636 S. Gallatin St.). The football viewing party features the game on a 12-foot high-definition screen with free food and beer specials. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

Super Bowl RSVP Party Feb. 4, 5:30 p.m., at Hops & Habanas (2771 Old Canton Road).

The viewing event features door prizes, a buffet, beer, corn hole and more. $20 buffet only, $45 VIP; hopsandhabanas.com.

SLATE

STAGE & SCREEN “Steal Away” Feb. 1-2, 7:30 p.m., at Warehouse Theatre (1000 Monroe St.). Ramona King’s farce is about church ladies who raise funds to send young black women to college by robbing a bank. $10; find it on Facebook.

“Helping Hand” Comedy Tour Feb. 4, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). The night of comedy features Jeremy McLellan and Omar Regan, and speakers Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Dr. Altaf Hussain. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

the best in sports over the next seven days

by Bryan Flynn, follow at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports

The world of football could change once again in 2020.

Last week, WWE’s Vince McMahon announced the return of the XFL after the league’s failed launch in 2001.

THURSDAY, FEB. 1

College basketball (7:30-9:30 p.m., SECN): The MSU women’s team travel to face a high-ranking Missouri team. … Documentary (8-9:30 p.m., ESPN): “30 for 30” is back with “The Two Bills,” which focuses on coaches Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells.

FRIDAY, FEB. 2

Curling (noon-2 p.m., ESPNU): Tune in to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, one of the biggest events in Canadian women’s curling.

SATURDAY, FEB. 3

College basketball (5-7 p.m., ESPNU/ SECN): Have your remote ready as the MSU men host Georgia on ESPNU and the Rebels men travel Tennessee on the SECN at the same time.

SUNDAY, FEB. 4

NFL (5:30-9 p.m., NBC): The Eagles will try to become the second team to win a Super Bowl against the Patriots with Belichick and Tom Brady, who will try for a sixth Super Bowl victory.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS Pops II: Stop in the Name of Love Feb. 3, 7:30-9:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra performs with Las Vegas vocal quartet Radiance. $18-$52; msorchestra.com.

My Story Feb. 3, 6:30-10 p.m., at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). 808 Tha Bass performs his one-man show about his struggle with a rare muscular disease. $15 admission, $25 VIP; eventbrite.com.

Jay Farrar Duo Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m., at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The alternative-country singer-songwriter performs. $20 in advance, $25 at the door; call 877-987-6487; ardenland.net.

MONDAY, FEB. 5

College basketball (6-8 p.m., ESPN2): The MSU women’s team will try to finally defeat its major stumbling block from last season, South Carolina. …

College basketball (8-10 p.m., ESPNU): End your night with the JSU men’s game against Southern.

EXHIBIT OPENINGS “Love and Donuts” Opening Reception Feb. 2, 6:30 p.m., at Jax-Zen Float (155 Wesley Ave.).

Artist Will Brooks of JellyDonut Studio shares a collection of donut-inspired digital drawings and watercolors. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

TUESDAY, FEB. 6

College basketball (6-10 p.m., SECN): A Mississippi men’s basketball doubleheader features MSU hosting Alabama and the UM Rebels hosting Missouri.

History Is Lunch Feb. 7, noon-1 p.m., at Two Mississippi Museums (222 North St.). In Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium. Mary Lohrenz discusses “Stories Unfolded,” a temporary exhibit at the Two Mississippi Museums. Free; mdah.ms.gov.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7

College football (7 a.m.-4 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN2): See where the high-school stars decide to play college ball on National Signing Day, with coverage beginning on ESPNU before switching to ESPN2 at 11 a.m.

The WWE stole more headlines on Jan. 28 when former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey appeared at Royal Rumble. Rousey will make her fulltime in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34.

HIGH FIVE

Events at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.) • “A Chorus Line” Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m. The musical is about dancers auditioning for spots in a chorus line. $35-$70; jacksonbroadway.com.

• “The Wizard of Oz” Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m. The play is an adaptation of the 1939 classic film. $35-$70; jacksonbroadway.com.

BE THE CHANGE Yappy Hour Feb. 1, 5-8 p.m., at Fondren Public (2765 Old Canton Road). The pet-friendly animal rescue fundraiser includes drink offers, giveaways and more. Proceeds go to Rescue Revolution of Mississippi. Free; find it on Facebook.

Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings, or to add your own events online. You can also email event details to events@jacksonfreepress.com to be added to the calendar. The deadline is noon the Wednesday prior to the week of publication.

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C U P S E S P R E S S O C A F E.C O M

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

COMMUNITY

21

Music listings are due noon Monday to be included in print and online listings: music@jacksonfreepress.com.

Jan. 31 - Wednesday Alumni House - Kern & Denise 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson 7-11 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Robert King 6-10 p.m.

Shucker’s - Sonny Brooks 7:30 p.m. free Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m.

Feb. 1 - Thursday

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Feb. 2 - Friday

22

Ameristar Bottleneck Blues Bar, Vicksburg - Area Code 8 p.m.

Bonny Blair’s - Mike & Skip 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Char - Ronnie Brown 6 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Lonn’e George & Flasche midnight $10 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Shaun Patterson Hal & Mal’s - Bill & Temperance (rest.) 7-10 p.m. free; Burt Byler & Michael McCall (red room) 7:30 p.m. $5 advance $7 door Iron Horse Grill - Ben Payton 9 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Faze 4 7-10:30 p.m.

M Bar - Flirt Fridays feat. DJ 901 free Martin’s - Winston Ramble 10 p.m.

MS College Aven Building “Songs for a New World” 7 p.m. $20 adults $10 students Pelican Cove - Redeem 6-10 p.m.

Feb. 3 - Saturday Ameristar Bottleneck Blues Bar, Vicksburg - Area Code 8 p.m.

Bonny Blair’s - Jason Turner 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Char - Bill Clark 6 p.m.

Davis Planetarium - “My Story” feat. 808 Tha Bass 6:30 p.m. $15 admission $25 VIP Drago’s - Sid Thompson 6-9 p.m.

Duling Hall - The Disco Stranglers (The Eagles tribute) 8 p.m. $20 F. Jones Corner - Big Money Mel & Small Change Wayne 10 p.m. $1; Fred T & the Band midnight $10 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Phil & Trace Hal & Mal’s - “Delta Music Industry Showcase” feat. Ol’ Skool Revue, DeltaRoX, B4Y2K, MIC Hargrove & more 7 p.m. restaurant free, $5 red room

Thalia Mara Hall - MS Symphony’s “Pops II: Stop in the Name of Love” feat. Radiance 7:30-9:30 p.m. $18-$52 Underground 119 - Magnolia Bayou 9 p.m.

WonderLust - Drag Performance & Dance Party feat. DJ Taboo 8 p.m.-3 a.m. free before 10 p.m.

Feb. 4 - Sunday 1908 Provisions - Knight Bruce 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Char - Big Easy Three 11 a.m.; Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Ronnie Brown noon-4 p.m.; Mike & Skip 5 p.m.

Table 100 - Raphael Semmes Trio 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Ronnie Brown 6-9 p.m.

Wellington’s - Andy Hardwick 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Feb. 5 - Monday Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Duling Hall - Jay Farrar Duo 7:30 p.m. $20 advance $25 door Hal & Mal’s - Central MS Blues Society (rest) 7 p.m. $5 Kathryn’s - Joseph LaSalla 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m.

Feb. 6 - Tuesday

Dinner, Drinks & Jazz The Hideaway - Miles Flatt 9 p.m. $10 Iron Horse Grill - Eric Deaton 9 p.m.

Jose’s, Pearl - Black Water Boogie 6-9 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Jay Wadsworth 7-10:30 p.m.

Last Call - “Good Times” feat. DJ TA & DJ Energizer 9 p.m.

Lucky’s - Poppa Hussein w/ DJ T-Money & Murph 2 Cold Martin’s - Epic Funk Brass Band 10 p.m.

MS College Aven Building “Songs for a New World” 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. $20 adults $10 students Offbeat - Meet & Greet feat. Dee-1 6-7 p.m. $30 Pelican Cove - Steel Blue Trio 6-10 p.m.

Soul Wired - “The Living Room Culture” feat. D McDay 9 p.m. $8 advance $12 door Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Fenian’s - Open Mic 9 p.m. free Hal & Mal’s - Dinner, Drinks & Jazz feat. Raphael Semmes & Friends 6-9 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Stace & Cassie 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Last Call Sports Grill - Top-Shelf Tuesdays feat. DJ Spoon 9 p.m.

MS Museum of Art - “Music in the City” feat. Alon Goldstein 5:15 p.m. free Table 100 - Chalmers Davis 6 p.m.

Feb. 7 - Wednesday Alumni House - Pearl Jamz 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Gator Trio 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Acoustic Kitchen 6-10 p.m.

Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m.

Submit listings to music@ jacksonfreepress.com by noon Monday for inclusion in the next issue.

1/31 - Avenged Sevenfold, Breaking Benjamin & Bullet for My Valentine - Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum, Biloxi 2/1 - Judah & the Lion - Varsity Theatre, Baton Rouge 2/6 - Anthrax & Killswitch Engage - Iron City, Birmingham

music

A Story of Healing and Hip-hop

by Micah Smith

“W

ow. I’m going to die.” many people have reached out to tell him That was rapper how much the music has meant to them.

D’Andre Jones’ first “The whole reason I even started talkthought after doctors ing about my disease was because I was diagnosed him with a rare muscle disease self-conscious and embarrassed about what called idiopathic inflammatory myopathy I was dealing with,” Jones says. “I felt like about five years ago. They warned him if I put it out there in front of everybody, that, eventually, complete paralysis and re- then what can you say to hurt me? It just so spiratory failure would be in his future. On happened that other people were inspired the opposite side, Jones says he was grateful and felt like they could talk to me.” to finally know what it was.

“For a year, they couldn’t tell me anything,” he says. “By the time I found out what I had, I was 123 pounds. I had lost like 60 pounds of body mass, and I couldn’t stand up on my own or any of that stuff. I went all this time not knowing anything, and my body went through all these changes, so I guess that I was happy. But at the same time, when you hear you’re going to die, that’s not the best news.”

By that time, Jones says he had already put a hold on his career as Jackson hip-hop artist 808 tha BASS, as the disease got progressively more difficult to work around. It became more risky to try to go out and record or perform, he says. He would fall more easily, and when he did fall, he couldn’t pick himself up.

“I really stopped going out,” Jackson rapper 808 tha BASS performs his one-man show, “My Story,” on Saturday, he says. “I stayed in the house all Feb. 3, at the Russell C. Davis Planetarium. the time. That’s all I did. After I got diagnosed and got on treatments, probably about a year later, the Something as vulnerable as “My people around me that knew me and knew Story” is a little out of the normal realm of what I had been through but also knew I hip-hop, and Jones says he still gets nervous did the music, they actually pushed me to about that, no matter how much work he (record). I was like, ‘I can’t even stand up,’ puts into the show. and they said, ‘Well, pull a chair in there.’”

“But once I get on that stage, give me

His music has always centered on his about a minute and a half, and it all starts own life rather than bragging about things rolling out,” he says. “Even when I get to that he doesn’t have, he says, so naturally, the vulnerable moments, I let them out he began to write about the real-life hard- because that’s what’s made people gravitate ships that he has faced through his disease, toward it. If I took that away, I guess people as well as the lessons that he has learned. wouldn’t vibe with me as much. So I give

That music became the crux of his them the truth.” one-man show as 808 tha BASS, “My 808 tha BASS performs “My Story” at Story.” Jones will perform the show, in 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, at Russell C. Davis which he tells his story through a blend of Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). The music, dialogue, interviews and other visu- lobby party begins at 6:30 p.m., and will als, for the fifth time on Saturday, Feb. 3, at feature music from Nina Linn and Maurice Russell C. Davis Planetarium.

Gibson, as well as makeup art from Christine

While he didn’t set out to be a voice Cody. General admission is $15, and VIP adfor others in similar situations, he says that mission is $25 at eventbrite.com.

Stephen Wilson

Bonny Blair’s - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 7-11 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Raul Valinti & the F. Jones Challenge Band 10 p.m. $5 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Dustin Moulder Gore Galleries, Clinton - “Diane Williams & Kira Cummings Art Reception” feat. Nellie Mack & Caleb Armstrong 6-8 p.m. free Iron Horse Grill - Casey Phillips & Geppetto Morgan 6 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Steele Heart 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Livingston Mercantile - Barry Leach 6-9 p.m.

Lost Pizza, Brandon - Ron Sennett 6 p.m. free MS College Aven Building “Songs for a New World” 7 p.m. $20 adults $10 students Pelican Cove - Sonny & Don 6-10 p.m.

Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m.

Underground 119 - Fred T & the Band 7-10:30 p.m.

Soulshine, Ridgeland - Jason Turner 7-10 p.m.

Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Underground 119 - Lucious Spiller 8:30 p.m.

WonderLust - DJ Taboo 8 p.m.-2 a.m.

Micah Smith

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THANK YOU JACKSON!

Natural Science OPEN NOW- APRIL 29, 2018 • Find ways to save with light bulbs, electricity, and recycling

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200 years. 100 artists.

1 Mississippi.

CURRENTLY ON VIEW The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the city of Jackson and Visit Jackson. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Picturing Mississippi is supported by the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation and

MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM of ART | 380 SOUTH LAMAR STREET | JACKSON, MS 39201 | 601.960.1515

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Jason Bouldin (born 1965), Portrait of Medgar Wiley Evers, 2013. oil on canvas. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson.

Purchase, acquired through the generosity of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. 2013.031.

Conservation Quest ÂŽ was created by Stepping Stones Museum for Children

23

Great Job!” 48 Solo on screen 49 Office fixture 51 2016 Key and Peele movie 54 Quick drive 58 Play it ___ 60 Rounded roof 62 Nest egg letters 63 Hang in folds 65 Political upheaval 67 Fashion magazine since 1892 68 Java vessel 69 Persona non ___ 70 Food regimens 71 Wanna-___ 72 Art store purchase

BY MATT JONES

37 Take the rap?

38 Corn unit 39 Some birdhouse dwellers 40 Electroplating stuff 44 Apparel giant with a World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. 45 Kick drum sound 50 Demolished 52 Love so much 53 Grammatical things 55 Pockets in the bread aisle 56 Steamed

57 Birth-related 59 Bill listings 61 Just beat out 63 Streaming video predecessor 64 King, in Cannes 65 Little leopard 66 Time period split into periods ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com)

Last Week’s Answers

For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800 655-6548. Reference puzzle #862.

Down

“Bundle Up”- —by wearing something warm.

Across

1 White of “Wheel” fame 6 Knock lightly 9 Prickly plants 14 Orchestra reeds 15 What tree rings indicate 16 Kind of committee 17 Headwear seen at a rodeo 19 Western capital that’s its state’s largest city 20 DuVernay who directed “Selma” 21 About 30.48 centimeters 22 Tenth grader, for short 23 Half of the Brady kids

25 “Home Again” star Witherspoon 27 Margarine containers 30 Laptop connection option 32 “Monsters, ___” (Pixar film) 34 Former UB40 lead singer Campbell 35 1969 Roberta Flack song with the lyric “The President, he’s got his war / Folks don’t know just what it’s for” 40 Cancel out 41 Sparks of “Queer As Folk” 42 Art store purchase 43 Corporate getaway of sorts 46 Suffix for social or graph 47 “___ and Eric Awesome Show,

1 Word knowledge, briefly 2 From the beginning, in Latin 3 “I don’t buy it” 4 Lincoln’s st.

5 Beginning from 6 Lake between two states 7 Quartz variety 8 Iguana, for some 9 ___ San Lucas 10 Take in or take on 11 Little barker 12 How-___ (instructional publications) 13 Swelling reducer 18 ___ Linda, Calif. (Nixon Library site) 22 E-mailed 24 Recap 26 Move like a crab 28 Fun time 29 “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the ___” 31 Egg-breaking sound 33 Mongoose’s foe 35 $100 bill, slangily 36 Sticking to the party line, like political speeches

BY MATT JONES Last Week’s Answers

“Kaidoku”

Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is represented in this grid by a number between 1 and 26. Using letter frequency, word-pattern recognition, and the numbers as your guides, fill in the grid with well-known English words (HINT: since a Q is always followed by a U, try hunting down the Q first). Only lowercase, unhyphenated words are allowed in kaidoku, so you won’t see anything like STOCKHOLM or LONG-LOST in here (but you might see AFGHAN, since it has an uncapitalized meaning, too). Now stop wasting my precious time and SOLVE! psychosudoku@gmail.com

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When I was in my early 20s, I smoked marijuana now and then. I liked it. It made me feel good and inspired my creativity and roused spiritual visions. But I reconsidered my use after encountering pagan magician Isaac Bonewits. He didn’t have a moral objection to cannabis use, but believed it withered one’s willpower and diminished one’s determination to transform one’s life for the better. For a year, I meditated on and experimented with his hypothesis. I found it to be true, at least for me. I haven’t smoked since. My purpose in bringing this up is not to advise you about your relationship to drugs, but rather to urge you to question whether there are influences in your life that wither your willpower and diminish your determination to transform your life for the better. Now is an excellent time to examine this issue.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Would you like to shed unwieldy baggage before moving on to your next big challenge? I hope so. It will purge your soul of karmic sludge. It will prime you for a fresh start.

One way to accomplish this bravery is to confess your sins and ask for forgiveness in front of a mirror. Here are data to consider. Is there anyone you know who would not give you a good character reference? Have you ever committed a seriously unethical act? Have you revealed information that was told to you in confidence? While under the influence of intoxicants or bad ideas, have you done things you’re ashamed of? I’m not saying you’re more guilty of these things than the rest of us; it’s just that now is your special time to seek redemption.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

In all of history, humans have mined about 182,000 tons of gold. Best estimates suggest there are still 35 billion tons of gold buried in the earth, but the remaining riches will be more difficult to find and collect than what we’ve already gotten. We need better technology. If I had to say who would be the entrepreneurs and inventors best qualified to lead the quest, my choice would be members of the Aries tribe. For the foreseeable future, you people will have extra skill at excavating hidden treasure and gathering resources that are hard to access.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Stories have the power to either dampen or mobilize your life energy. I hope that in the coming weeks, you will make heroic efforts to seek out the latter and avoid the former.

Now is a crucial time to treat yourself to stories that will jolt you out of your habitual responses and inspire you to take long-postponed actions and awaken the sleeping parts of your soul. And that’s just half of your assignment, dear Taurus. Here’s the rest: Tell stories that help you remember the totality of who you are, and that inspire your listeners to remember the totality of who they are.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Author Anaïs Nin said, “There are two ways to reach me: by way of kisses or by way of the imagination. But there is a hierarchy: the kisses alone don’t work.” For two reasons, Anaïs’ formulation is especially apropos for you right now.

First, you should not allow yourself to be seduced, tempted or won over by sweet gestures alone. You must insist on sweet gestures that are synergized by a sense of wonder and an appreciation of your unique beauty. Second, you should adopt the same approach for those you want to seduce, tempt or win over: sweet gestures seasoned with wonder and an appreciation of their unique beauty.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Are you more inclined right now to favor temporary involvements and short-term promises? Or would you consider making brave commitments that lead you deeper into the Great Mystery? Given the upcoming astrological omens, I vote for the latter. Here’s another pair of questions for you, Cancerian. Are you inclined to meander from commotion to commotion without any game plan? Or might you invoke the magic necessary to get involved with high-quality collaborations? I’m hoping you’ll opt for the latter. (P.S.: The near future will be prime time for you to swear a sacred oath or two.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

In March 1996, a man burst into the studio of radio station Star FM in Wanganui, New Zealand. He took the manager hostage and issued a single demand: that the dj play a recording of the Muppet song “The Rainbow Connection,”

as sung by the puppet Kermit the Frog. Fortunately, police intervened quickly, no one was hurt, and the kidnapper was jailed. In bringing this to your attention, Leo, I am certainly not suggesting that you imitate the kidnapper. Please don’t break the law or threaten anyone with harm. On the other hand, I do urge you to take dramatic, innovative action to fulfill one of your very specific desires.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Many varieties of the nettle plant will sting you if you touch the leaves and stems. Their hairs are like hypodermic needles that inject your skin with a blend of irritant chemicals. And yet nettle is also an herb with numerous medicinal properties. It can provide relief for allergies, arthritis, joint pain and urinary problems. That’s why Shakespeare invoked the nettle as a metaphor in his play “Henry IV, Part 1”: “Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety,” says the character named Hotspur. In accordance with the astrological omens, Virgo, I choose the nettle as your power metaphor for the first three weeks of February.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Knullrufs is a Swedish word that refers to what your hair looks like after sex: tousled, rumpled, disordered. If I’m reading the astrological omens correctly, you should experience more knullrufs than usual in the coming weeks.

You’re in a phase when you need and deserve extra pleasure and delight, especially the kind that rearranges your attitudes as well as your coiffure. You have license to exceed your normal quotas of ravenousness and rowdiness.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

In his “Crazy Lake Experiment” documented on Youtube, Harvard physicist Greg Kestin takes a raft out on a lake.

He drops a tablespoon of olive oil into the water, and a few minutes later, the half-acre around his boat is still and smooth. All the small waves have disappeared. He proceeds to explain the science behind the calming effect produced by a tiny amount of oil. I suspect that you will have a metaphorically comparable power in the next two weeks, Scorpio. What’s your version of the olive oil? Your poise? Your graciousness? Your tolerance? Your insight into human nature?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

In 1989, a man spent $4 on a painting at a flea market in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. He didn’t care much for the actual image, which was a boring country scene, but he thought he could use the frame. Upon returning home, he found a document concealed behind the painting. It turned out to be a rare old copy of America’s Declaration of Independence, originally created in 1776. He eventually sold it for $2.42 million. I doubt that you will experience anything quite as spectacular in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. But I do suspect you will find something valuable where you don’t expect it, or develop a connection with something that’s better than you imagined it would be.

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

In the 1740s, a teenage Capricorn girl named Eliza Lucas almost single-handedly introduced a new crop into American agriculture: indigo, a plant used as a dye for textiles.

In South Carolina, where she managed her father’s farm, indigo ultimately became the second-most-important cash crop over the next 30 years. I have astrological reasons to believe that you are now in a phase when you could likewise make innovations that will have long-range economic repercussions. Be alert for good intuitions and promising opportunities to increase your wealth.

Homework: What’s the best, most healing trouble you could whip up right now? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

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Shopping Center Fondren • 601-366-5273

Maywood Mart

1220 E. Northside Dr • 601-366-8486

#& 8:7E 42C5 7@C $20

Westland Plaza

2526 Robinson Rd • 601-353-0089

English Village

904 E. Fortification St. • 601-355-9668

– NEW STOCK – The Slant Collection

#& 8:7E 42C5 7@C $18.75

#! 8:7E 42C5 7@C $12

Visit www.jfpdeals.com today!

Maywood Mart t Jackson, MS t nandyscandy.com Mon-Sat 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. t 601.362.9553

Best Place to Drink Cheap, Best Open-Mic Night, and Best Service-Industry Hangout!

Join us for Happy Hour Monday-Friday 3-7pm

COMING UP

_________________________

WEDNESDAY 1/31

OPEN AS USUAL _________________________

Saturday, February 3

OPEN AS USUAL _________________________

THE DISCO STRANGLERS

BILL & TEMPERANCE

Monday, February 5

THURSDAY 2/1 FRIDAY 2/2

Dining Room - 7-10pm - Free &

BURT BUYLER MICHAEL MCCALL Red Room - 7:30-9:30pm $5 in Advance - $7 at the Door www.eventbrite.com

_________________________

SATURDAY 2/3

% &ORTIl CATION 3T s www.fenianspub.com -ON &RI AM AM s 3AT PM AM s 3UN PM AM

DELTA MUSIC INSTITUTE NIGHT

OL’ SKOOL REVUE (R&B/Soul), DELTAROX (Classic Rock), B4Y2K (90s), BABY C DA REALIST, MIC HARGROVE Dining Room - 7-10pm - Free

E TH G

Live Music Every Thurs, Fri & Sat Night!

POOL LEAGUE Mon - Fri Night

DRINK SPECIALS "52'%23 s 7).'3 s &5,, "!2 '!4%$ 0!2+).' s ")' 3#2%%. 46 3 LEAGUE AND TEAM PLAY B EGINNERS TO A DVANCED I NSTRUCTORS A VAILABLE

444 Bounds St. Jackson MS

UPCOMING: _________________________

601-718-7665

2/8 D’Lo Trio 2/9 Johnnie B & Mrs. Iretta Sanders 2/10 Wolf Trap 2/12 Blue Monday 2/14 New Bourbon Street Jazz Band 2/15 Thomas Lovett of Young Valley Jason Turner MARTIN2/17 SEXTON 2/19 Blue Monday if you missed out on martin’s show in march, 2/20 MS Humanities Council don’t make the same mistake twice Presents Ideas on Tap 2/20 Dinner, Drinks & Jazz with Raphael Semmes & Friends 2/26 Blue Monday 2/28 New Bourbon Street Jazz Band _________________________ OFFICIAL

HOUSE VODKA

Sat Feb 3 - Magnolia Bayou

www.underground119.com 119 S. President St. Jackson

outlaw country to his core!

do we need to say anymore? be there.

Saturday, February 10

SHOVELS & ROPE LOW TICKET WARNING!

Tuesday, February 13

ANDERSON EAST LOW TICKET WARNING!

austin's premier funk /soul band bringing it to duling!

W/ RAPHAEL SEMMES

Fri Feb 2 - Lucious Spiller

WHITEY MORGAN

$3 Members $5 Non-Members _________________________

Dining Room - 6-9pm - Free _________________________

INDUSTRY HAPPY HOUR Daily 11pm -2am DAILY 12pm BEER- 7pm SPECIALS

Friday, February 9

Friday, February 16

DINNER, DRINKS & JAZZ

Thurs Feb 1 - Fred T & the Band

JAY FARRAR DUO

son volt's front & center man returns to duling

CENTRAL MS BLUES SOCIETY PRESENTS:

TUESDAY 2/6

-Pool Is CoolThank you for voting The Green Room “Best Place to Play Pool” once again, extending our run of a Best of Jackson winner since 2006!

MONDAY 2/5

BLUE MONDAY Dining Room - 7 - 11pm

O RO M

E RE N

Red Room - $5 _________________________

mississippi allstar musicians performing the music of the eagles

Visit HalandMals.com for a full menu and event schedule

601.948.0888 200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson, MS

ROXY ROCA

Saturday, February 17

BRENT COBB

supporting 36 chris stapleton dates qualified!

Thursday, February 22

SOUTHERN AVENUE straight out of memphis and full of soul!

Friday, February 23

DRIVIN' N' CRYIN' southern rock legends

Get on the Hip Ship COMPLETE SHOW LISTINGS & TICKETS

dulinghall.com

January 31 - February 6, 2018 • jfp.ms

Thank you for voting us WINNERS in the categories of,

27

Baby It’s Cold Outside

Let’s face it, it’s never THAT cold in Mississippi but on those days when’s it nippy order your Pig & Pint favorites from Waitr.

7KDQN \RX IRU YRWLQJ )XVLRQ 7KDL D À QDOLVW IRU %HVW 7KDL 5HVWDXUDQW Treat your sweetheart to a night out and the best latin food in town with our

7ZR ORFDWLRQV WR VHUYH \RX 3TIR WIZIR HE]W E [IIO 1030-A Hwy 51 • Madison Behind the McDonalds in Madison Station

DATE NIGHT SPECIAL! Enjoy an appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert to share!

All for $30

601.790.7999

Monday-Wednesday Nights at Eslava’s Grille Dinner Hours: 5pm-10pm

1002 Treetops Blvd • Flowood Behind the Applebee’s on Lakeland

2481 Lakeland Drive Flowood | 601.932.4070

601.664.7588