V16n33 - JFP Interview with Anthony Moore

vol. 16 no. 33 FREE

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CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF THE JFP Your YourMetro MetroEvents EventsCalendar Calendarisisatat

JFPEVENTS.COM JFPEVENTS.COM

Action on Roads, Bridges?

Dreher, pp 6 - 7

Food Truck Mania Helsel, p 19

Art of the ‘Bluff’ Smith, p 22

The JFP Interview with

JPD Chief

Anthony Moore Bragg, pp 16-18

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JACKSONIAN Ben Witt Stephen WIlson

W

hile getting a massage one day, Ben Witt began to think to himself, “Hey, I can do this. I can be a massage therapist.”

Witt liked that the practice was quiet, thoughtful and rewarding, and also the one-on-one aspect of it.

Witt, a Franklin, Tenn., native, graduated from Millsaps College in 2001 with bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and French before receiving his master’s degree in applied geology with an emphasis in applied geography from the University of North Texas in 2003.

He moved back to Jackson in summer 2011. He worked as a software trainer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center from February 2012 to July 2012, and as a French teacher at Brandon High School from July 2012 to May 2015.

After the revelation about massage therapy, Witt decided to switch gears from teaching. He graduated from Healing Touch Career College in Jackson in 2016 and from there, he got his license with the Mississippi Board of Massage Therapy.

Witt started Marathon Massage in September 2016.

“The road to massage therapy for

contents

me was a series of different chapters in life,” Witt says. “Having changed locations, (I) had the opportunity to selfreflect. I had the privilege of choosing massage therapy as a new career.”

Currently, he practices massage at Jax-Zen Float in midtown.

Witt says a massage therapist is someone who adds their own flavor and style to the technical skill of massage, all while promote healing and relaxation. His therapies include total relaxation services such as deep-tissue techniques, synergetic myofascial therapy (posture management and realigning connective tissue to improvement movement) and more.

Witt likes that being back in Mississippi gives him a sense of connectivity with his massage-therapy clients. He finds reward in people feeling grateful for his work. “(Massage therapy) has value in the community,” he says.

He says that as a massage therapist, it’s important to be present during sessions so he can give his clients high-quality service.

“Not all experiences will be the same for people, so it’s very important for me to build special connections with each (person),” Witt says.

—ShaCamree Gowdy

cover photo of Anthony Moore

by Stephen Wilson

6 ............................ Talks 10 ......................... Op / ED 16 ............ Cover Story 19 ........... food & Drink 20 ......................... 8 Days 21 ........................ Events 21 ....................... sports

6 The People’s Choice

Get an inside look at the City’s plan for fiscal-year 2018’s budget.

10 Eat on the Go

Celebrate with this year’s winners and finalists for Best Food Trucks.

22 ......................... BOOKS 23 ........ music listings 24 ...................... Puzzles 25 ......................... astro 25 ............... Classifieds

22 The Art of Illusion

Read about Michael Kardos’ newest book, “Bluff,” which dives into the world of magic, before the book’s signing on April 24.

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

4 ............ Editor’s Note

Megan Bean; File Photo; Stephen Wilsonx

April 18 - 24, 2018 | Vol. 16 No. 33

3

editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

Time for Mississippi to Get Smarter on Crime

D

ozens of officers from 15 federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies gathered in a circle in front of the new colorful Jackson mural facing State Street meant to symbolize a better capital city. The Clarion-Ledger’s cops reporter was invited to join the nighttime gang hunters with her video camera.

The videos the reporter later posted may not have included interviews of family members of the 45 people arrested that night, the man’s face she filmed pressed to a porch with a cop sitting on top of it, or the violence and gang experts around the country who would tell her, and local cops and political leaders here if they asked that this “surge” is exactly the wrong way to go about making our communities safer.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Donald Trump adore these kinds of old-school arrest sweeps, especially when used against people of color—which they usually are in America, even in states that have high numbers of white gang members and other criminals.

I reported recently that from 2010 to 2017, only African Americans (97 of them) were prosecuted under the state’s existing gang law, even as the Mississippi Association of Gang Investigators is hawking the growth of white gangs over the last decade, telling the Ledger that 53 percent of the state’s verified gang members are white.

If that is true—and it could be considering the growth of Simon City Royals, Aryan Brotherhood, Latin Kings (many are white, I’m told), biker gangs like the Bandidos and others—it means that the gang hunters are targeting a lot of black people.

Within a week of my reports in the JFP and The Guardian about that glaring disparity going viral, U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst had

assembled heavily armed members of 15 agencies to swarm Jackson decidedly looking for gang members of all hues.

In his press conference, Hurst made a point to mention the Royals, the ABs and other white gang members rounded up in Jackson, and the Ledger cops reporter was sure to include images of white people arrested in her PR videos for the raid that really could be used as warrior cop recruitment. She even showed an officer in Army

We got it.

White arrests, too. Check. green with an AR-15 patch on his shoulder, holding a mugshot of a white suspect.

We got it. White arrests, too. Check.

But don’t let all the posturing obscure the key point. This should not be a race to round up and film more white gang members just to prove law enforcement aren’t racist (and it doesn’t prove that anyway).

Bad policing is bad policing even if you throw more white mugshots on the pile.

These sweeps are bad policing for everybody, just like cops high-speed-chasing shoplifters and killing bystanders, or firing into moving vehicles instead of getting out of the way. (“Move!” an NYPD captain told me is the response to a moving car.)

It’s a fallacy to believe a traditionally racist-plus-bad policy is suddenly a smart one or no longer racist just because officials apply them to more white people. No, that

just means more whites are victims of the practices that actually make them more likely to commit worse crimes.

This embrace of debunked practices is where it’s really time to challenge law enforcement in Mississippi. This is not the wild, wild west anymore, and law enforcement aren’t hired to be warriors in the OK Corral with AR-15 patches and he-man slogans like “Certainly there is no hunting of man like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter.” That, by the way, was an Ernest Hemingway quote the infamous Street Crimes Unit in New York City had printed on T-shirts to inspire them when they went prowling the streets at night there.

What they found was Amadou Diallo smoking in his front yard, whom they shot 41 times because he had a wallet in his hand. Then, the hunters were acquitted.

Much is written about the “warrior” mindset in policing. Sometimes, such as with Diallo’s killers, it’s hard to know which side of the gang fight is the most violent.

And that should not ever be the case with the ones professing to be the good guys.

What good cops, and their leaders, do is constantly welcome new information about what works and what doesn’t. Study.

Train. Retrain. Question practices. It’s the same thing I’ve done both in the craft of journalism, and it’s the same thing I do to know what I know about crime policies. I read long evidence-based reports, talk to the best criminologists and crime researchers in the country, visit cities that are instituting smart policing strategies designed to prevent crime and not increase recidivism and grow gangs by packing more young people into violent prisons without trying to reha-

bilitate them first.

Those practices are antiquated policing that continue cycles of violence. And it’s often done because a) no one has bothered to know any better (and that includes cops reporters) and b) they are doing it for the wrong reasons—votes, racism, meanness, feigned tough, playing with artillery.

Mississippi has always been stubborn about seeking or letting in new information. David Kennedy designed Operation Ceasefire, which Hurst told me is a model for Project EJECT. Kennedy laughed at that in a later interview. Kennedy also told me he had evolved much about his model since the early Boston Gun Project, because he embraced feedback, data and research on what works for violence reduction and community trust, and what does not.

What doesn’t work is rounding up people, squishing their faces into a porch or the pavement for the cameras, and then packing them into prisons across the country, per Kennedy and every top crime researcher in the country right now.

Sessions may be salivating to re-ignite the mass-incarceration wave, but all of us will pay for that serious mistake here at home.

Think about it this way: The need for reentry programs wouldn’t be so urgent if many people weren’t coming out of prison hellholes ripe to commit more crime.

Oh, and let’s put this straw man to rest. Even if Hurst, Sen. Brice Wiggins and the Ledger’s cops reporter keep proclaiming that phantoms out here are saying that “gangs do not exist in Mississippi,” no one with a brain is saying that. What we are saying, if they will actually listen, is that they are hawking the very strategies that will make gangs, and violent crime, worse and our state much less safe. This must stop.

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

contributors

4

Ko Bragg

Arielle Dreher

Stephen Wilson

Micah Smith

ShaCamree Gowdy

Rebecca Hester

Todd Stauffer

Meghan Garner

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 wrote the cover story.

News Reporter Arielle Dreher is trying to read more than 52 books this year and wants to foster an otter from the Jackson Zoo. Email her tips and story ideas at arielle@jacksonfree­ press.com. She wrote about infrastructure plans.

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

Music Editor Micah Smith is married to a great lady, has two dog-children named Kirby and Zelda, and plays in the band Empty Atlas. Send gig info to music@jacksonfree­ press.com. He wrote about author Michael Kardos.

Freelance writer ShaCamree Gowdy recently turned “I’m not on the red carpet yet, but I’ve started writing my speech just in case,” into her life’s motto. She wrote the Jackso­ nian story.

Events Editor Rebecca Hester recently moved to the Jackson area, and loves Alabama foot­ ball, Boston Celtics basketball, the outdoors, music, dogs and volunteering as much as humanly possible. She com­ piled the event listings.

Publisher Todd Stauffer is the author of more than 40 tech­ nology books on Macs, HTML, blogging and digital video. He grew up in Dallas and is a Texas A&M graduate.

Digital Marketing Strategist Meghan Garner avoids crowds and is most often spotted hiding behind a dry martini. She works to help local businesses thrive through JFP’s website building, content marketing, SEO and digital creative services.

Our mission is to provide a collaborative workspace for our members, inspire them by a sense of place, and allow them to leverage the social and human capital of our partners.

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5

“[B]ecause of the actions taken last week, the City of Jackson and the surrounding areas today are safer and more secure.”

— U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst after a federal-state-local task force swept up 45 people in Jackson, whom he declined to name.

WEEK IN REVIEW Wednesday, April 11

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves extends his temporary restraining order against Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban until at least Oct. 24.

Friday, April 13

Democratic leaders in the Legislature say the state should block corporate tax cuts and put money into fixing highways and bridges. ... Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba speaks to seventhand eighth-grade boys about education and staying on track at a “Man to Man” panel at Bailey APAC Middle School.

Saturday, April 14

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts Bon Jovi, Nina Simone, The Cars, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into its 2018 class.

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

Sunday, April 15

Former FBI Director James Comey says in an ABC interview that he thinks it is possible the Russians have compromising information on Donald Trump, that there is “some evidence of obstruction of justice” in his actions and that Trump is “morally unfit” for office. ... Boston rings the bells of Old South Church and holds a citywide moment of silence in honor of Boston Marathon bombing survivors and victims on the 5th anniversary of the attack.

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Monday, April 16

U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst touts 45 arrests from the previous week that might end up being prosecuted under Project EJECT at the United States Courthouse in Jackson.

Tuesday, April 17

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann announces that his office is sending 4,000 wallet-sized cards with voting deadline information to active members of the military for upcoming elections.

Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

@jacksonfreepress

@jxnfreepress

Roadblocks for Road Plans?

By Arielle Dreher

T

he Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature has ignored the state chamber of commerce’s calls to increase state funding for roads and bridges for three legislative sessions in a row. That’s not to say negotiations are not happening, but at this point even the federal government is noticing.

Last month, the Federal Highways Administration warned Gov. Phil Bryant that Mississippi had not closed its dangerous bridges and could lose federal funds if that did not change soon.

Bryant, accordingly, issued an executive order closing 83 bridges last week— and that number is over 100 bridges now.

Negotiations between House and Senate leaders to come up with an infrastructure funding plan fell apart in the 2018 legislative session but after the governor’s announcement, House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, renewed his calls for a comprehensive road plan. He revealed a 60-page proposal, saying the governor told both him and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves that “we need to do something.”

‘I Am a Republican’

Gunn’s plan restores several provisions rejected during the 2018 legislative session, as well as a way to increase the gas tax

Arielle Dreher File Photo

Thursday, April 12

House Speaker Philip Gunn says he will deliver a revamped infrastructure funding proposal to Gov. Phil Bryant and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves after the governor closed 83 bridges that the federal government says are in bad shape.

@jxnfreepress

House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, announced a new road-funding proposal last week, but efforts to divert for funds to roads and bridges could continue to stall. This is a file photo from the Neshoba County Fair.

while eliminating the 4-percent income-tax bracket during a phased-in time period. The “tax swap” would phase out the 4-percent tax over four years, while increasing the gas tax by 2 cents each year for four years. The gas tax would be indexed for inflation at the end of the phase-in.

Once fully phased in, the gas tax would be up eight cents, and $160 million in tax

revenue would be “swapped” from income tax to use tax. Use tax is a sales tax on goods purchased in businesses with storefronts, which some online retailers such as Amazon have begun to voluntarily collect and turn over to the State, despite not having a physical presence in Mississippi.

The House proposal also includes a 35-percent use-tax diversion, which totals approximately $110 million, from the general fund to cities, counties and the local bridge program. Gunn said no figures are final, yet—as the proposal is in its initial draft. His proposal also includes bonding authority for infrastructure projects from the State’s Gaming Sinking Fund.

“So there’s no net increase in taxes; none of this proposal increases any net tax,” Gunn said. “All it does is use existing dollars to fund roads and bridges and shifts taxes from one area to another.”

Gunn will need to bring Reeves on board with his plan for it to gain support of Republicans in both chambers. So far, Reeves has not seemed keen on the “tax swap” idea. When asked to respond to Gunn’s plan, he provided a statement.

“I am a Republican. I am a conservative. I am against raising gas taxes. The Senate passed a comprehensive $1 billion plan without raising anybody’s taxes to address

“Jackson, Mississippi has no problem creating wealth. We have a serious problem in retaining wealth.”

”I mean, our tax code looks like Swiss cheese.”

— Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, at a Democratic press conference about roads and bridges.

— Jackson’s Chief Administrative Officer Robert Blaine at the People’s Assembly on April 10.

Feds Lead Gang ‘Surge,’ Arrests in Jackson

by Ko Bragg

On April 16, U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst touted 45 arrests from the previous week that might end up being prosecuted under Project EJECT.

of Corrections, Pearl Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Ridgeland Police Department, Biloxi Police Department, the Metro 1 Air Support, and sheriff’s departments from Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties.

About 60 task-force members arrested 45 individuals of various races, almost 75 percent of whom were identified as gang

Mississippi’s infrastructure needs, and we look forward to working with the House and Gov. Bryant to address road and bridge maintenance,” Reeves said.

The lieutenant governor is not the only person not on board with Gunn’s plan. House and Senate Democrats hosted a press conference at the Capitol the day after Gunn’s announcement. Rep. Jarvis Dortch, D-Jackson, said Gunn’s gas-tax swap plan would hurt lower-income families and working people in the state.

“(The wealthy) are going to get a big tax cut, and the low-income folks are going to get a small tax cut—and they are going to be paying more at the pump,” Dortch said last week.

‘Swiss Cheese’ Tax Code

Democrats called for repealing the “Taxpayer Pay Raise Act,” the state’s sweeping tax cut that will divert $415 million annually from the state’s general fund at its full implementation.

members, including Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Simon City Royals, Latin Kings and Aryan Brotherhood, Hurst said.

“[B]ecause of the actions taken last week, the City of Jackson and the surrounding areas today are safer and more secure,” Hurst said on April 16.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions praised the action in a statement emailed to local media. “When law enforcement offi-

“We ought to look at our entire system of taxation.

When Governor Barbour was still the governor around here, he commissioned a study to look at our entire tax structure, and they made a lot of recommendations that are still sitting on the shelf collecting dust,” House Minority Whip David Baria said last week.

“But among them was to look at all the tax exemptions that we created for everybody and anybody who had enough money to hire a lobbyist over the last 10 to 15 years.

I mean, our tax code looks like Swiss cheese.”

Democrats said they were not a part of the transportation negotiations and had not seen Gunn’s proposal, but they plan to host a public hearing that includes all stakeholders to see how Mississippians believe the state’s infrastructure should be funded. Democrats held similar hearings in recent years, when it seemed like a road plan was possible.

Back in December 2015, the Mississippi Economic Council released a study showing that the state needed

cers work together, we get results,” he said.

“The arrest of more than 30 gang members in Jackson is the result of effective collaboration between all levels of law enforcement— federal, state and local—to target the most violent criminals in our communities.”

‘A Criminologist’s Nightmare’

Sessions’ approach to crime-fighting draws much criticism, however, including from David Kennedy, a criminologist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, who calls the AG’s “evidencefree strategy ... a criminologist’s nightmare.”

That despite Hurst telling the Jackson Free Press that Project Eject is modeled on the Kennedy-led Boston Gun Project and Operation Ceasefire violence strategies.

“Sessions has called for a return to the ‘war on drugs’ menu—more law enforcement, mandatory minimums and long sentences, even the anti-drug D.A.R.E. program—plus a new focus on heavy immigration enforcement and a withdrawal from DOJ attention to police misconduct.

But we now know for a fact that these things don’t work, and can actually make matters worse,” Kennedy wrote in The Hill.

Hurst said it is important to identify more SURGE, see page 8

$375 million annually to repair the state’s roads and bridges.

The report came immediately after the federal government initially warned Mississippi then about its risky bridges.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation began to review more than 1,500 bridges on the National Bridge Inventory. MDOT has since concluded that 378 local bridges should be closed to traffic.

“Working with the Mississippi Office of State Aid Road Construction in 2017, MDOT developed a plan to get the worst of the timber-pile bridges into compliance, which included closing any bridges that were a danger to motorists,” MDOT Executive Director Melinda McGrath said in a press statement.

Instead of passing a road plan, the Republican supermajority passed the largest tax cut in the state’s history.

If the two legislative leaders can come to an agreement, Gov. Bryant could call a special session for infrastructure funding. Until then, MDOT will be busy working with counties and cities to shut down bridges.

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

Stephen Wilson

U

.S. Attorney Mike Hurst stepped proudly to the microphone at the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Jackson on Monday, April 16, to release some details about a recent cooperative sting to go after a mix of alleged criminals with outstanding warrants, gang members and their associates, and sex offenders. He said other agencies will likely refer some of them to his office for prosecution under his crime-fighting initiative Project EJECT—Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together—under which Hurst pledges to go after the “worst of the worst.”

“[T]his is what Project EJECT is all about: increased cooperation among our law enforcement to take the worst of the worst off our streets and the empowerment of our citizens and our communities through education, awareness, and assistance,” he said Monday.

The “surge” of law enforcement met up early the morning of April 10 in Jackson to sweep up a variety of allegedly dangerous suspects, whom Hurst declined to name. The U.S. Marshals Service’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force led the arrests sweep, with members from the Jackson Police Department, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, Mississippi Department

7

TALK | city

Will the People Have a Say in 2018 Budget?

by Ko Bragg

W

Managing Debt, Saving Money

At the City’s inaugural weekly press briefing on April 10, Director of Finance and Administration Charles Hatcher shared his plan for managing Jackson’s debt obligations over the next few years. Hatcher said the general obligation debts, or money required to cover interest and repay money

borrowed in previous administrations, is around $9.8 million. In the next fiscal year, that debt is expected to increase by $5.5 million to $15.3 million based on bonds is-

At the participatory budgeting People’s Assembly on April 10, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba engaged as a citizen, rather than as the mayor.

SURGE from page 7

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

gang members if his office is going to make any headway on “breaking gangs” so they can go up the ladder and get the leaders. “It’s only by getting the gang members and getting the gang leaders that we’re able to break the gang’ themselves,” Hurst said.

Many violence experts, however, say that it is unwise for law enforcement to fixate on gang membership over investigating and prosecuting specific crimes. “It is the standard way that law enforcement will try to deal with a problem that cannot be dealt with with force,” Ron Noblet, who trains law enforcement around the country in effective gang intervention and consults with the Urban Peace Institute in Los Angeles, Calif., told the Jackson Free Press.

In addition, violence experts warn that suddenly disrupting, or “splintering,” a gang by arresting a leader can create a leadership vacuum and increase the chance for violence as members jostle for power.

8

sued to the City between 2003 and 2016.

Hatcher does not believe the City could sustain this kind of increase by using property and sales taxes to repay bonds Stephen Wilson

ith the tax deadline not too far in the rearview mirror, finances are still at the foreground of many people’s minds, including Jackson officials as they work on the budget for the next fiscal year.

In keeping with the tone of Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba’s people-focused campaign pledges, his staff is planning to handle the City’s debt without tax increases. At the same time, the mayor’s close associates are teaching citizens how to express what they want officials to make room for in the budget through the process of participatory budgeting—the topic of the first people’s assembly of the year on April 10.

Only in Jackson?

Hurst said the task force seized a number of firearms and found illegal drugs including ecstasy, marijuana and crystal methamphetamine.

Officers identified targeted gang members through word-of-mouth and tattooed insignia, Hurst said at the press conference, but he would not divulge further details about how they decided who was in a gang or on the round-up list. The U.S. attorney diverted a question from a reporter about whether or not there has been a surge in

gang activity in Jackson, pointing instead to a surge in law enforcement.

The U.S. attorney told the Jackson Free Press earlier this year that he does not have a plan to do a Project Ejecttype operation outside Jackson, including on the Coast, which has seen a surge of gang-related activity and violence over the last decade. The JFP reported recently that the existing gang law was only used against African Americans from 2010 until 2017, even as the Mississippi Association of Gang Investigators told The Clarion-Ledger that 53 percent of the state’s verified gang members are white.

Project EJECT is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national strategy revived by Sessions that is known for targeting mostly African Americans in U.S. cities for possessing illegal weapons. The idea is to subject people picked up for federal gun crimes to expanded sentences and “eject” them into federal prisons far from their home state.

Sessions, though, is a fan of the mass-arrest approach behind both Project EJECT and Project Safe Neighborhoods. “It’s also an example of how customizing our strategy at the local level through the Project Safe Neighborhoods program helps us use our resources more effectively,” he said in the statement.

Praising Chief Moore

Hurst said the task force is also rounding up sex offenders, weapons or not, because they’re the “worst of the worst” and would not necessarily have to be charged with a gun crime. As of February, all people indicted under Project EJECT had been accused of a crime involving a gun from felons in possession of a weapon to armed robbery.

primarily. Instead, he hopes to rearrange the debt payments to even them out over time, which could save Jackson as much as $4.5 million right now.

“We’re not talking about increasing our debt load; we’re talking about rearranging it so that we have level payments over time,” Hatcher said last week.

That $4.5 million in savings would come from settling for a $1-million increase in debt obligations, instead of a potential $5.5-million increase should the Lumumba administration do nothing to level payments, Hatcher said.

The City will still owe money until the year 2036, but Hatcher said this will make payments more predictable, instead of “lumpy,” he said, pointing to a peaking and plummeting graph mapping the city’s debt obligations for the next two decades.

Mayor Lumumba praised Hatcher’s department for coming up with a “compassionate” strategy for a more consistent pay schedule, especially after last budget cycle when the City Council approved a 2-mill-

“I know there’s been some misconceptions about the only crimes that fall under Project EJECT are guns, and that’s actually not accurate—we’re going after violent criminals. And those criminals can be violent without guns so we’re prosecuting whatever tools we have in the federal system we’re going after the violent offenders in our community,” Hurst said, veering from the original Project Safe Neighborhoods mission.

Jackson Police Department’s involvement in Project EJECT, in Hurst’s eyes, is a “match made in heaven.” The Project EJECT Task Force works “hand in glove” with his office, he said, and either JPD will call his office when they think something qualifies for federal charges or vice versa.

“Again, I can’t say enough good things about (Interim Chief Anthony Moore) and his department and what they’ve meant to this project and how successful it’s been so far,” Hurst said Monday.

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba has distanced himself from Project EJECT, however. “This administration has never said it is in favor of Project EJECT, we have never made any comments on Project EJECT,” Lumumba said at a recent Jackson City Council meeting that drew heated pushback on the City’s role in Project EJECT. “In my opinion, it may be out of our sphere of influence. What our police department is tasked with doing is investigating cases,” Lumumba continued

Hurst did not provide details on the promised prevention, the reentry and awareness aspects of Project EJECT.

Email city reporter Ko Bragg at ko@jacksonfreepress.com.

Read more jfp.ms/projecteject and jfp.ms/gangs.

Additional reporting by Donna Ladd.

A People’s Budget?

Some Jacksonians hope that compassion stretches to fund a City project that the people decide on through a process called participatory budgeting. Boiled down, participatory budgeting would allow Jacksonians to directly decide how public money is spent.

At the M.W. Stringer Grand Lodge in west Jackson, a Masonic temple that

Most viral stories at jfp.ms:

1. “Mayor Calls Zoo’s Move ‘Disingenuous,’ Disrespectful’ to West Jackson” by Ko Bragg 2. “Yarber Campaign Funder Mitzi Bickers Indicted in Atlanta” by Ko Bragg 3. “The Poverty-Crime Connection”

by Lacey McLaughlin 5. “Mayor Lumumba, Police Out of Sync?”

by Ko Bragg 4. “As 83 Bridges Close, Speaker Gunn Unveils Revamped Funding Proposal” by Arielle Dreher

hosted civil-rights planning sessions for decades, at least 100 people filled the auditorium for the first people’s assembly of the year on April 10.

People’s assemblies invite the community to share what they want to see change or take place around them, and Lumumba had campaigned on the promise to implement them in his administration.

While the mayor supports this process, the people’s assembly works independently of the mayor’s office, with his sister, Rukia Lumumba, and Akil Bakari chairing the group.

Attendees received a letter or a number that led them to break off into small groups. The mayor, Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr., City Council President Charles Tillman of Ward 5 and several officers from the Jackson Police Department participated in the group sessions as “civilians,” so to speak.

Jumbo-sized Post-it notes were tacked onto the walls of the auditorium with questions about economic justice and participating in local government written on them. The groups rotated through all of the sheets, responding to the question at hand in what was called a “gallery walk.”

Attendees considered some of the biggest economic issues facing Jackson to be the Environmental Protection Agency’s consent decree with the City over wastewater, infrastructure, potholes, wage gaps,

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blight, crime, violence and misappropriation of funds. Many of those common threads appeared on other Post-its asking about economic injustice in people’s neighborhoods and families.

Robert Blaine, the City’s chief administrative officer, gave a presentation on the budget in Hatcher’s absence about the importance of increasing revenue.

“One of the things that I often hear people say is, ‘Well, the City of Jackson has a whole lot of money, you all have hundreds of millions of dollars.’ But ... the discretionary part of the budget is actually quite small,” Blaine said.

He encouraged the room to spend money in the City to increase the amount of sales tax coming in. In Jackson, the low tax revenue coming into the City is a systemic problem related to brain drain and flight of the tax base, as well as Jacksonians spending money outside the city limits. Blaine said that in studying other majority-minority cities similarly sized to Jackson in the South, this city is the outlier on the bottom with per-capita income.

But Jackson is also at the top of cities with high-income, high-wage, high-technology jobs with four major hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning.

“Jackson, Mississippi, has no problem creating wealth. We have a serious problem in retaining wealth,” Blaine said.

Money Necessary

Valerie Warren of Our City Our Voice, a nonprofit organization that does participatory budgeting workshops, walked people through the framework of participatory budgeting, a multi-step process that began with last week’s introductory meeting. Then comes an idea-collection phase, as well as a proposal-development process, which Warren said takes the longest. Next is voting and the building phase that brings a project to life such as a play-

ground, a community center or whatever the people decide they want. Warren told the Jackson Free Press it is critical for the City to commit funds at the beginning.

“What that does is it makes it concrete—we all know that nothing is going to happen without money,” Warren told the Jackson Free Press.

She added that knowing the amount of money allocated makes it better for outreach and getting citizens involved because you can ask them, “What do you want to do with this money?”

Warren emphasized that the participatory budgeting process is not a one-off event, but also that people can get involved at any point in the process. Participatory budgeting began in the 1980s in Brazil and has since branched out to different places around the world. The idea is to get people of all creeds involved with the governing process through direct impact.

Attendees like JJ Townsend, who launched a local community crowd-funding nonprofit called Citizenville, said he and the other people at his table thought they would be voting on a project at the assembly that night.

“Anything that is going to get people engaged and involved with what’s going on in the government in the City, I’m for, and I’m going to attend every single event they have for this.

“... But I was thinking that the gallery walk was going to be our ideas, and we vote at the end, and a final four would be chosen, and the City would do something with it,” Townsend said. He added that by the end of the evening, he understood the importance of the education piece.

The next participatory budgeting people’s assembly is planned for June, with more details forthcoming.

Email city reporter Ko Bragg at ko@ jacksonfreepress.com and follow her on Twitter at @keaux_ for breaking news.

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age tax increase that led $20 more a year homes with a market value of $100,000.

Lumumba said this meant they would not have to resort to closing early-childhood development centers or furlough city employees as the City has done in the past.

“What this budget reflects is an opportunity where we don’t have to make as severe choices over what we provide to the community,” Lumumba said.

The mayor added that this restructure would also help align the way the City spends money with the way the City receives funds.

“While our payments and our debt is spiking, the money that the City receives is not at this time,” Lumumba said.

“This provides relief to the citizens that we won’t be asking them to … make up the difference (by) raising taxes again.

We’re tasked with meeting the needs and desires of the citizens, and money is a critical component of that.”

9

The Mayor’s Task Farce

I

n the “most radical city on the planet,” the “emperor” has no clothes. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has repeatedly provided cover for the Jackson Police Department, which has consistently exacted violence on residents. He allows JPD to operate with impunity in the face of calls from community members to hold officers accountable for their actions.

In his latest attempt to provide a smoke screen for violent cops, Lumumba has created a task force through executive order to deliberate over the question of whether the City should release the names of police officers involved in acts of violence against civilians. The task force is comprised of government bureaucrats, police officers, Lumumba family members and professionals who will likely never have the types of experiences that poor and working-class black people have with JPD.

His campaign slogan, “when I become mayor, you become mayor,” speaks to a governing process that allows residents to have democratic control over the decisions that impact their lives. However, the task force’s creation is mayor-centered and does not represent direct democracy.

At the first meeting on April 11, it was evident from the start that JPD would dominate it. Officers who were not a part of the task force spoke at will. However, community members were told they would not be allowed to address the task force.

Eventually, after residents pressed

them about the undemocratic nature of the process, members relented and voted to offer residents 10 minutes to speak toward the end of each meeting. The task force also adopted the suggestion of a non-member officer to host the second meeting at JPD training headquarters. Apparently, no one on the task force thought it would be problematic to invite residents to a meeting space that the department controls to discuss matters critical of JPD.

Shouldn’t the people be able to decide the scope and direction of the task force?

Mayor Lumumba has said that the task force represents the will and voice of the people. During the second meeting, this well-dressed lie was exposed. Previously, the mayor said that he established the task force because certain community members did not want him to release the identities of officers. Task-force appointee and Lumumba administration Chief of Staff Safiyah Omari revealed that the committee came about as a result of a compromise between Lumumba and JPD.

He could have issued an executive order mandating the names of officers involved in violence against civilians be released without the smoke screen of a

task force. However, he won’t because it is not politically expedient for him to do so. When task-force members discussed expanding the scope of the committee, Omari told them that they would have to get the approval of the mayor because his executive order would not allow them to do that. But if we are all “co-mayors,” shouldn’t the people be able to decide the scope and direction of the task force?

Lumumba and his political allies say that “the people” must decide. Who are the people? How do “the people” decide?

It appears that his desire to follow the will of the people has been relegated to the realm of theory. His practice is to appoint individuals who are loyal to his political interests. This is the type of nepotism and cronyism that breeds political corruption and opportunism.

This is the status quo. This is not the “radical” change that he promised to the residents of Jackson. The task force is a farce and cruel jest in the face of very serious calls for the imposition of transparency and accountability on a murderous and violent police state.

Adofo Minka is a defense attorney and founder of the America Means Prison Initiative. Follow his commentary at adofom1.tumblr.com.

This column does not necessarily reflect the views of the JFP.

Leaders, Roads and Bridges Trump Your Tax Cuts

G

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

ephyrophobia translates into fear of bridges, and it’s perfectly rational for Mississippians around the state to be suffering from that phobia following the closure of more than 100 “dangerous” bridges. What’s even scarier is the fact that the risky conditions drivers face on dilapidated bridges and roads is not news to Mississippi lawmakers. They know, and they do little to nothing about it.

A collapsing

This legislative session marks the bridge third year in a row that the Legislature cares not. has ignored the Mississippi Economic Council’s calls to fund repairs to roads and bridges. The only reason questionable bridges and roads are closed now is because the Federal Highways Administration gave Gov. Phil Bryant an ultimatum: close dangerous roads and bridges, or potentially lose federal funds.

And despite protestations to the contrary, Mississippi’s Republican leaders have long craved juicy pork out of Washington. So, bridges closed. The state’s residents can just find another way to get there.

10 Since the Legislature and its leaders couldn’t figure out how to

deal with this crisis during the session, we may have to pay them more to try again. House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, is trying to pull together a last-minute proposal that would shift around taxes in no net-result increase, but it is unclear if Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves would even get behind Gunn’s plan as a fiscal conservative.

If they could agree, Gov. Bryant could call a special session to vote and repair roads and bridges if it passed. But until then, folks better start mapping out alternate routes around the state.

Not to mention, Democrats in the House and the Senate seem to not be particularly fond of Gunn’s plan, either.

This is yet another example of closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out—that is if you can make it back to the farm without a bridge collapsing on your way. The safety of simply traveling our roadways should not be lumped into partisan games, with blame lobbed back and forth across the aisle. The safety of roads and bridges affects legislators and voters alike—as a collapsing bridge cares not whether you wear a suit to the State Capitol a couple months out of the year or if you’re a mom in a small town trying to make it to your kid’s soccer practice. Fix them, leaders.

Mississippians’ safety trumps your precious tax cuts.

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Ready to Engage

The JFP Interview with JPD Chief Anthony Moore

by Ko Bragg

In his office on April 11, Interim Police Chief Anthony Moore of the Jackson Police Department shared his hopes and concerns for the City.

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April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

nterim Police Chief Anthony Moore, known since Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba appointed him in January as a man of few words, opened the door to his office in the Jackson Police Department on April 11. He was cheerful and ready to engage.

The chief only declined to answer one question—about his views of the newly formed officer-involved-shooting identification task force the mayor authorized last month. The first meeting would be just a couple hours after the interview, and he wanted to defer to it.

Otherwise, Moore went into the weeds of federal partnerships, his hopes to secure funding for tasers and body cameras ,and the realities of being a police officer in the capital city of Mississippi.

There are new things in place under Moore, including a downtown foot-patrol unit, the Project EJECT partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s office and other federal entities, and an in-house Hinds County assistant district attorney.

Moore and the mayor have also halted “perp walks,” where media request that a suspect in custody be paraded before them 16 for photos and camera footage. JPD is no

longer sending out mugshots of juveniles charged as adults or anyone shot by an officer in order to avoid implying criminality at the point of arrest.

With 34 years of experience with JPD, Moore knows the ins and outs of the department he inherited, one with low officer numbers and under scrutiny for its use-of-force policy that dates back to 2004 and does not include identification of any officer who shoots a civilian.

Since Moore took over as chief from former Chief Lee Vance in January, JPD officers have killed two people.

Moore also brings an academic background in criminal justice, and he hopes to use all of his tools to rewrite the use-of-force policy, keep morale high in the police department, and keep people safe in Jackson, which has seen an average of 6.5 homicides a month in 2018 as of April 11. The interim chief spoke to the Jackson Free Press in his office in police headquarters.

How have your first months as chief been?

It’s been challenging. Of course being a new chief, obviously, you’re going to experience various issues and things you have to

ANTHONY MOORE -Jackson native -34 years with JPD -Criminal justice and political science professor at Jackson State University and Hinds County Community College

deal with. But I can say that we’re moving forward with a lot of things I’m trying to implement. Obviously, our manpower is a major issue right now. And so we’re addressing that, trying to get our recruit class started. We anticipate on getting this class started, hopefully, at the end of May or either mid-June. That’s our wish right now.

So, we’re still in the process of trying to get 50 recruits for this particular class.

We don’t know if we’re going to get that many, but we’re hopeful. … I’m also trying

to implement a career-development plan to retain officers and recruit officers, and we think that is extremely important, along with benefits for officers—it’s (also) about retaining officers.

Right now, we’re at 351 officers— extremely short. I can remember when we were at 525 officers here at the police department. Currently we’re budgeted for 418. But, we hope to increase those numbers, and we also hope to have continuous classes after this first class. We want to get our numbers back up over 500. That’s the goal right now. But, this is as low as I have ever seen it since I’ve been employed at the police department.

What can you do with a fuller police force that you cannot do now?

I think it’s going to help us in our efforts of being proactive. … Obviously, when you’re proactive, you deter crime.

So having a lot more manpower is going to help us be more efficient in our delivery of services to the citizens of Jackson, and I think that’s a key component when it comes to community policing in our efforts.

With the Jackson residency requirement lifted, do you still hope the core of the force will be from the community?

Well, yes. I think so, but again, a lot of times you have to be able to attract quality candidates, and my concern is if you can come to work, be here on time, serve the citizens of Jackson.

How do you deal with violent crime in Jackson?

Homicide is an issue in the city of Jackson. We stand at 26 homicides as of right now (for this year). They occur for various reasons, everything from domestic disputes, arguments between individuals, (and) there have been a few cases of robberies­—some that we’re still trying to determine why.

But I can say that I think homicide is a behavioral problem. I believe people need

Jackson along with DART (Direct Action Response Team), who’s also out there doing a lot of good things.

A lot of times it’s not just about being reactive, you have to have a proactive approach in order to fight and deter crime, I think that’s extremely important.

How much support do federal agencies provide JPD, especially in programs like Operation Cross Country and Project EJECT?

It really depends on the type of crime.

We get assistance from all the federal agencies, everybody from the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations), ATF, and as I mentioned the DEA and the Marshals’ service.

Now, there is a task force that’s currently in operation, it’s known as the violent crime task force that’s composed of members from those various agencies I mentioned.

The idea is to go out and address violent crime.

What I mean by that is, let’s say there’s an armed robbery of a business, well, you’ll have members from the task force who will go out on scene. Say JPD is dispatched out there. These members will go out on scene, assist in the investigation and come back Stephen Wilson

Is it hard to hire for police departments in general, or is this a Jackson-specific issue?

Ko, you know, I think it’s a combination of both. I think you’re dealing with a different breed of millennials, so to speak.

I think there are a number of factors. The law-enforcement profession is a tough profession, and I don’t know if a lot of people are more dedicated, more or less, as to coming into the profession.

You also have to look at the benefits associated with it, too. So, I think it’s a combination of both. We’ve got to also look at the fact that we’re in competition with other agencies. When you look at places like Memphis, Atlanta, Dallas, when we have to compete with those agencies, those are extremely hard things to do. But we’re doing everything we can to try to attract as many officers as we can to beef up our force.

to learn how to settle their differences other than using violence, other than using guns.

I don’t’ think that’s just a problem here in Jackson, Mississippi; I think it’s a problem across the nation.

You can have a million police officers out here—now keep in mind, we’re going to do our part, we’re going to be out there.

We’re going to hit the hot spots, we’re going to hit the troubled areas, we’re going to do everything that we can to reduce crime and reduce violent crime in the City of Jackson.

But, I think, by and large, it’s a big behavioral problem. People need to learn how to settle their difference other than using violence. I think if we educate people, I think that’s going to be a big help to us.

I can say that we’re doing various things when it comes to addressing crime.

We’re deploying several crime-fighting strategies. We typically have quarterly searches that we do in the City of Jackson.

Now that’s composed of our partners from the federal agencies, everybody from ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration, (U.S.) Marshals (Service).

We all come together, and we do these surges in Jackson at various times, which may be for three to four days, and those

who’s actually housed here. That is something that I, along with the agreement of DA Smith, that we instituted recently. It’s been a big help.

A lot of times having someone housed here in the police department is really beneficial to our detectives because they can discuss cases and go over cases. And you have a district attorney here that can help answer a lot of questions, you know, from the legal aspect.

I can remember years ago when I was a detective, we had that very thing here. We would have an ADA assigned to the police department. We were able to re-implement that, and that’s been very successful. We started in January, and we want to continue that partnership along with the district attorney.

Could you touch on the topic of juveniles and perp walks in the City?

Well, perp walks is a practice that’s been going on for some time. I along with the mayor’s office have been discussing this, and we’ve decided to discontinue this practice for a couple reasons. We don’t want to seem like a person is being criminalized by having them photographed as they’re leaving out of the jail, handcuffs and waist shackles on them. We think that this is not in the best interest, and so we decided to discontinue that practice at this time.

Talk about the decision to withhold mugshots of citizens shot by police.

Well, again, I think it’s a situation where you don’t want to make it seem like a person is guilty of something by showing a mugshot of them. That’s something that we’ve gotten away from. We just want to let the criminal-justice system and the process play out like it should and not seem like, again, we’re trying to criminalize somebody based on a mugshot. So that’s something that we are getting away from.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba (right) signed an executive order in March to establish a task force that will establish the City’s policy on identifying officers who have shot civilians. Interim Police Chief Anthony Moore (left) is pictured here at the task force’s first meeting on April 11.

have been very successful in deterring crime in the City of Jackson.

Not only that, we also have other units, and I don’t give away all of my crimefighting tactics, but I’ll just touch on them on the surface. We have a street-level unit that I used to run prior to becoming chief, and we address those various issues hitting hotspots in certain areas, problem areas where we have high crime. That unit works all over the city; it’s composed of approximately 15 officers. It’s been in existence for going on two years now.

That’s been a big help in the City of

and try to work that case and develop leads which could potentially lead to a federal investigation, or if it doesn’t rise to that level, a local investigation or state investigation. So that’s been very successful with our federal partners in addressing crime, and I can say we’ve had a high rate of success with that.

How much do you work with Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith?

A lot. Of course, I don’t know if you’re aware, we actually have an assistant district attorney assigned to the police department

Are you looking to revise the use-of-force policy?

Absolutely, absolutely. That is a huge topic that I am currently looking into right now. And I can say it is going to be revised.

It’s no question about that. We anticipate probably having a new use-of-force policy I am hoping very, very soon. I can’t give you an exact date on it. But, absolutely, we’re definitely going to revise that.

Why?

It’s important—change of times. I mean, there’s some things in our use-offorce policy we need to update. It’s just plain and simple. We think that’s important

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

Do you hope to replicate the new downtown foot-patrol unit elsewhere in the city?

I haven’t looked at it as far as implementing it in other parts of the City as of yet. I think it’s extremely important to have a presence in the downtown area. A lot of cities have downtown walking beats, and I know at one time we’ve had it here. Not only that, we don’t just want to have a walking beat, but we want to implement a bike patrol along with a Segway patrol.

We’ve gotten positive feedback about our officers walking downtown, being visible, communicating with a lot of the businesses downtown. I know it’s only been a week or so, but so far I think it’s been very successful, and it’s been met with a lot of praise. So we want to continue to do that also. I think that’s extremely important in developing that bond and that collaboration with the business owners and the citizens downtown.

more MOORE, see page 18 17

The JFP Interview with Anthony Moore to do. Not only that, with the scrutiny that the Jackson Police Department has been under, we’ve taken a long look at it, and we do believe it needs a revision. So we are in a process of revising it now.

future, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, the entire 18 years I’ve been doing it. It’s helped me a lot in my skills and experience being a better person in being able to apply some of those things at the police department.

How do tasers work in this department?

Every officer in the department does not have a taser. We’re in the process of trying to purchase tasers for every officer in the department to have one.

I want to say we have about maybe 60 to 65 officers (who) actually have tasers. We think that it’s definitely a less lethal weapon that could be used, and it could be beneficial to us in not using deadly force in various instances. It’s being worked on.

How long have you been in Jackson, and what do you hope for the city?

I’ve been here all my life. Obviously I want Jackson to be a safe city, that’s first and foremost.

How about body cameras?

Although imperfect, is there any interest for them at JPD?

There is. Of course funding is the biggest issue right now, and we’re looking at trying to come up with some grant funding to try to see if we can purchase body cameras. That is something that is on our list, and we hope to have that accomplished real soon. Sometimes it takes time with grants, but that is something that we’re looking at.

What’s morale like at JPD?

I’ve been out to speak with the officers.

I haven’t spoken with every single officer in the department. I think they are optimistic.

I like to go out and personally introduce myself and look at somebody face-to-face and talk to them and let them know what the vision is for the department. Getting feedback, I think they are optimistic about the future of the police department.

It’s going to take time. Nothing happens overnight, and I think trying to implement new things and bring things to the police department, our officers understand that it takes time. So I want to make sure that I emphasize that to them where they can understand what we’re trying to do.

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

Can you talk about your academic background with criminal justice?

I’ve been in it a long time. I started out back in 2000, so I’ve been teaching for 18 years. I teach criminal justice and political science courses. My background is in both political science and criminal justice. I have graduate degrees in those areas.

I’ve been teaching at Hinds Community College and also Jackson State. I enjoy it.

I still do it on a limited basis, but it’s been adventurous. Once I retire (from JPD), it’s 18 something that I want to keep doing in the

Stats Chief Moore shared these stats from July 1, 2017, though April 11, 2018:

49

incidences of officers facing resisting-arrest situations Man with gun calls:

1,585 responses Shots fired:

3,590 responses Assaults on police officers:

51

I would love to see it flourish back to the way it used to be. I would love to see our infrastructure be a lot better. I want to see businesses come back to Jackson. I want to see Metrocenter Mall come back to life.

A lot of times people grow up and they leave Jackson. I’ve had a vested interest in Jackson all my life, decided not to leave.

Had a few opportunities to leave, but I love Jackson been here all my life, and I don’t plan on going anywhere when I retire.

This has been my home, I have a passion for Jackson. I want to see it get back to being one of the most thriving cities, and I think we’re doing that.

A lot of the things that the mayor’s implemented in the City of Jackson are a lot of good things, and I think we’re getting back on track to where we need to be.

from page 17

What made you want to be a police officer?

Ever since I was a kid, it was something that I always dreamed about. I can remember coming up that I used to be a police explorer. We have that program today. It was just something that I dreamed as a kid that I always wanted to be a police officer. I’ve been fortunate and blessed enough to be able to put on the uniform ever since I was 20, 21 years old and enjoy what I do every single day. Wouldn’t trade anything for it.

I’m just one of those diehard people when it comes to what I do.

Why do you think you were chosen to be interim chief?

Well, that’s a decision the mayor made obviously. I think a lot of officers around the police department respect me as an individual and know what I stand for and that was a deciding factor in why I became interim chief. So, that’s what I can say. I think the mayor has confidence in me to be able to run this department and make sure that it’s being run and managed the best it can be. But, I think a lot of it did happen based on my character and who I am.

Do you want to stay on as chief permanently?

Yes, I would love to. There are a lot of things I would like to see change here; it’s going to take a little time to get them done.

But I would love to serve as permanent chief. Of course, that’s not my decision.

We’ll see how things work out.

What would you want people to know about you?

I can say that I’m a passionate person, I believe in treating people fairly, and I believe in our officers treating people fairly and with professionalism and respect. So I want the citizens to know that we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that we’re the most professional police department here in the state of Mississippi.

With that being said, obviously I want crime to go down, and I think it’s important for us to be proactive, and I think it’s important for us to have a connection with the community—community policing is paramount. You must have community policing; you have to have the citizens support you. If not, you’re going to fail.

Having that support, having the community behind us, us partnering with the community is extremely important. I can say there’s a lot of things that we’re doing right now when it comes to that.

We have COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) meetings every

month where we sit down with members out of the community in each precinct and discuss crime issues. We have individual meetings with citizens that may want to talk with a commander.

Bigger things are citizens’ police academies, from which we recently had approximately 35 citizens graduate. I encourage all citizens to try to go through the citizens police academy. It really gives you a sideline view of what the police department is about and what officers do on a daily basis.

And we have nothing but positive feedback from it. We went from having citizens police academies two times year to four times a year now. Our next one is going to be scheduled in June.

Would you say police have a scary job day-to-day?

It is. Being a police officer is a tough job. Police officers are often faced with dangerous, violent situations on a daily basis that a lot of times the media never hears about. Officers put their lives on the line each and every day. They don’t know if they’re going to come home at night to their families.

But we know what we signed up for, we know what we have to do as officers, and we take that risk every single day we put on the uniform. It’s part of the job, and I can say.

A lot of times officers engage in situations where they de-escalate them. No violence is used, nobody gets hurt. And I know that there have been some issues with officers when it comes to officer-involved shootings.

It’s a dangerous job, and with encountering the criminal element that these officers do, it’s tough. I’m thankful that no officers have been seriously injured, and I pray that that doesn’t happen.

When they took an oath to serve, they understand what they face.

Does JPD communicate with families of people that police shot and killed?

We’ve reached out. I personally reached out to the (Crystalline) Barnes family and expressed my condolences.

I’ve said in the past, these are very unfortunate situations. Nobody wins.

It’s just bad when it comes to officerinvolved shootings, and I expressed my sentiments all the time, and I just think it’s very unfortunate. … But again, it’s part of the job that we do.

This interview was edited for length

and clarity. see jfp.ms/policeshootings and jfp.ms/preventingviolence.

food&drink

Eats on the Move

by Amber Helsel

A

s we get closer and closer to summer, it’s time to start going outside more often, and we’re seeing more food trucks popping up around the capital city. Let’s celebrate the season with these Best of Jackson winners and finalists.

Blue Plate Specials 11am-3pm Mon-Fri Includes a Non-Alcoholic Drink

FILE PHOTO

LurnyD’s Grille

Finalists FILE PHOTO

Chunky Dunks Sweets Truck FILE PHOTO

Small Time Hot Dogs

LurnyD’s Grille (601-906-9480, lurnydsgrille.com)

LurnyD’s has been a staple in Jackson’s food truck community since it opened in 2013. The business serves burgers such as the southwest cheese with pico de gallo and pepperjack cheese; and for those more adventurous, LurnyD’s has the fried kimchi burger, with deep fried kimchi, and sweet chili and teriyaki sauces.

For more information, find LurnyD’s on Facebook.

Chunky Dunks Sweets Truck (601-506-5951)

Chunky Dunks is one of the newest (and sweetest) food trucks in the metro area’s pool of mobile food vendors. The menu includes dishes such as ice cream nachos, which have cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips, ice cream, chocolate and caramel syrups, and whipped cream. For more information, find Chunky Dunks on Facebook.

FILE PHOTO

Small Time Hot Dogs (662-753-9702)

While Small Time Hot Dogs is from Winona, Miss., you can often find it at events in the Jackson metro area. Gary Howard Jr. and his family have been operating the business since 2012, bringing New Orleans-style food-cart hot dogs to Mississippi. Small Green Ghost Tacos Time has hot dogs such as the Southern Dog, which has hickory-smoked pulled pork, coleslaw and barbecue sauce. For Cajun food fans out there, the truck has the Raging Cajun, which is Cajun crawfish sauce on top of a beef Polish dog. The menu also includes dishes such as a fried green tomato BLT and deep-fried Oreos. For more information, find the business on Facebook.

Green Ghost Tacos (1290 E. County Line Road, 601-957-7436; 2820 N. State St., 601-

398-3454, greenghosttacos.com) While Cesar Torres and Oswaldo Sanchez were working on opening Green Ghost Tacos’ first Fondren location, the brothers used a food truck to gather attention to the new location, often appearing at events such as Fondren’s First Thursday. These days, you can still catch the food truck out and about sometimes. The business can bring the truck to events such as corporate events, parties, festivals and more.

Green Ghost’s catering menu includes dishes such as quesadillas, tacos, burritos and more.

MONDAY Red Beans & Bangers

WEDNESDAY Fried Pork Chop

Smithwick’s ale braised, The Flora Butcher Irish sausage, Two Brooks Farm rice, Gil’s garlic crostini

buttermilk fried, bone-in chop, Guinness onion gravy, champ, sauteed garlic greens

TUESDAY Chicken Curry

THURSDAY Drunken Hamburger Steak

roasted Springer Mountain Farms chicken, bell pepper, onion, Two Brooks Farm rice or hand cut chips

Creekstone Farms beef, whiskey glazed onions, Guinness gravy, mashed potatoes, garlic parmesan creamed kale

FRIDAY Fish & Grits

blackened Simmons catfish, Irish cheddar Delta Grind grits, smoked tomato relish, pea tendrils

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

Wednesday Pie Day!

11 AM -2 PM $3.14 ANY SINGLE SLICE COMBO

Dine-In Only ~ Ask Your Server For Details

4 PM - 9 PM 15% OFF TAKEOUT ORDERS

For more information, visit greenghosttacos.com.

Call 601.368.1919

These may not be combined with other discounts/offers.

Not available online & or for delivery.

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

FILE PHOTO

One Guy Steak and Chicken

Winner One Guy Steak and Chicken (1494 Old Fannin Road, 601-503-5908, oneguysteakchicken.com) Chef Kendrick Gordon has more than 25 years of experience in the food industry, and for the last few years, he has applied that to his food truck, One Guy Steak and Chicken. His menu, which includes dishes such as grilled filet mignon with leak mashed potatoes and a tarragon cream sauce, a crab cake sandwich, is proof that food trucks and fine dining go well together.

Though he does local events such as Food Truck Fridays, you can most often find him on Old Fannin Road in Flowood. For more information, find One Guy Steak and Chicken on Facebook.

19

WEDNESDAY 4/18

SATURDAY 4/21

TUESDAY 4/24

“Shakespeare in Love” is at New Stage Theatre.

The “Battle of the Brass” Crawfish Boil is at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar.

The Jackson Choral Society’s “From the Rising of the Sun” is at Millsaps College.

BEST BETS APRIL 18 - 25, 2018 Eric Ryan Anderson

WEDNESDAY 4/18

Chris Young performs at 7:30 p.m. at the Brandon Amphitheater (8190 Rock Way, Brandon). The Murfreesboro, Tenn.-native country artist’s latest single is titled “Losing Sleep.” Kane Brown, Morgan Evans and Dee Jay Silver also perform. Doors open at 6 p.m. $105-$199; brandonamphitheater.com.

THURSDAY 4/19

Smithsonian Institution

“Museum After Hours: This Land is My Land” is at 5:30 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). The pop-up art exhibition features work from photographers Christina McField and Rory Doyle, as well as the Envision Mississippi art contest winners. Includes “Re:frame,” a dialogue with former Congressman Mike Espy and Footprint Farms owner Cindy Ayers, a screening of the film “The Straight Story,” and more. Free admission; call 601-960-1515; msmuseumart.org. … The Medgar Wiley Evers Lecture Series is at 6 p.m. at Galloway

(Left to right) Zach Williams, Kanene Pipkin and Brian Elmquist of The Lone Bellow perform on Saturday, April 21, at Duling Hall.

FRIDAY 4/20

“Envisioning a Feminist and Queer South” is at 4 p.m. at Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.) in Olin Hall. The speaker is Jaime Harker, professor of English and director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of Mississippi. Reception to follow. Free admission; millsaps.edu.

SATURDAY 4/21

Monica April 21, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pasby Rebecca Hester cagoula St.). The R&B singer is best known for hit songs such as “Angel of Mine,” “For You I Will” jacksonfreepress.com and “The Boy Is Mine.” $39-$49; Fax: 601-510-9019 ticketmaster.com. … The Lone Daily updates at Bellow performs at 8 p.m. at Duljfpevents.com ing Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The Brooklyn, N.Y.-native Americana group’s latest album is titled “Walk Into a Storm.” Devon Gilfillian also performs. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. $20 admission, $79 VIP package; ardenland.net.

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

events@

Lonnie G. Bunch III, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, speaks at Galloway United Methodist Church on Thursday, April 19.

United Methodist Church (305 N. Congress St.). The guest speaker is Lonnie G. Bunch III, the founding director of Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Free admission; email morris@mdah.

20 ms.gov; mdah.ms.gov.

SUNDAY 4/22

The Belhaven Grilled Cheese Festival is from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Laurel Park (1841 Laurel St.). Teams compete to see which can make the best grilled cheese sandwich. Includes live music and vendors. Chairs, blankets and coolers encouraged. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

MONDAY 4/23

The Celebrity Golf Tournament is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Annandale Golf Club (419-A Annandale Pkwy., Madison). The golf competition features Mississippi sports stars, college administrators, coaches and former professional athletes. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

Includes a boxed lunch and heavy hors d’oeuvres. $260 individual player, $1,600 team sponsor, $2,100 corporate sponsor; call 601-982-8264; find it on Facebook.

TUESDAY 4/24

Michael Kardos signs copies of “Bluff” at 5 p.m. at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202). Reading at 5:30 p.m. $26 book; call 601-366-7619; lemuriabooks.com. … The 2018 Governor’s Cup is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Trustmark Park (1 Braves Way, Pearl).

The baseball teams from the University of Mississippi Rebels and the Mississippi State Bulldogs play each other in the annual game. This event is part of the Trustmark College Series. $10-$41; ticketmaster.com.

WEDNESDAY 4/25

The Charles Krug Wine Dinner is from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Char Restaurant (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 142). Chef Derek George presents a four-course menu with wine pairings. Andy Ruffner from Charles Krug Winery speaks about the winery and featured wines. $60 per person, before tax and gratuity; jackson.charrestaurant.com.

Live Music Every Thurs, Fri & Sat Night!

JFP Lounge April 26, 5:30-7 p.m., at The Iron Horse Grill (320 W. Pearl St.). The Jackson Free Press hosts the “drink and think” event featuring a discussion about what residents love and would like to add to the city of Jackson. Includes networking, complimentary appetizers, door prizes and more. Free admission; jfpevents.com.

COMMUNITY Startup Weekend Jackson April 20, 5:30-9 p.m., April 21, 9 a.m.-10 p.m., April 22, 9 a.m.9 p.m., at Coalesce (109 N. State St.). The event includes opportunities for participants to pitch business ideas, create prototypes and network. $40-$60; find it on Facebook.

Ideas on Tap: Emerging Mississippi in Media April 24, 5:30 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). The event includes a discussion on how people choose to receive news, the approach that young reporters take in order to cover issues, and their connection to the issues on which they’re reporting. Free; find it on Facebook.

KIDS

SLATE

FOOD & DRINK “Battle of the Brass” Crawfish Boil April 21, 1-5 p.m., at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 S. State St.). Includes music from Southern Komfort Brass band and Epic Funk Brass Band, crawfish and beer for sale, and more. Admission TBA; martinslounge.net.

The Last Boil April 21, 1-8 p.m., at Cathead Distillery (422 S. Farish St.). The crawfish boil includes craft beer for sale, live music from the Eric Deaton Trio, games and more. For all ages.

Free admission; find it on Facebook.

STAGE & SCREEN “Shakespeare in Love” April 18-21, 7:30 p.m., April 22, 2 p.m., April 24-25, 7:30 p.m., at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The play tells the fictional tale of William Shakespeare’s love affair with Viola de Lesseps. $30, $25 for seniors, students and military; newstagetheatre.com.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” April 20-21, 7:30 p.m., April 22, 2:30 p.m., at Black Rose Theatre (103 Black St., Brandon). The comedic play centers on Mortimer Brewster as he deals with his insane family, including his murderous spinster aunts. $15 for adults, $10 for students, seniors and military; blackrosetheatre.org.

the best in sports over the next seven days

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

The college-baseball regular season is entering its final month. The University of Mississippi and USM look like locks to get into the postseason. JSU could be if the Tigers win the SWAC Tournament.

THURSDAY, APRIL 19

NFL (7-8:30 p.m., ESPN): With the NFL Draft closing in, tune in for SportsCenter special “Mel Kiper Jr. & Todd McShay’s Mock Draft.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 20

College baseball (6:30-10 p.m., SECN+): UM hosts Georgia, and MSU hosts Arkansas, with both games starting at the same time.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21

College softball (1-4 p.m., SECN+): MSU looks to make a statement for the postseason at home against Florida.

SUNDAY, APRIL 22

College baseball (1:30-5 p.m., SECN+): UM looks to move back up in the SEC standings against Georgia.

MONDAY, APRIL 23

NBA (7-9:30 p.m., TNT): The Houston Rockets take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24

College baseball (6-9 p.m., SECN): Tune in for Governor’s Cup between the Rebels and Bulldogs if you can’t get to Trustmark Park.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25

College softball (6-9 p.m., ESPN3): MSU travels out of conference to Troy. … College softball (6-9 p.m., SECN+): The Rebels host UT Martin.

If the baseball or softball don’t get you excited this week, there are NBA and NHL playoff games, and NFL Draft coverage to fill the football void.

Events at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.) • Nikki Lane April 19, 8 p.m. The alternativecountry artist’s latest album is “Highway Queen.” Ida Mae also performs. $15 in advance, $20 at the door; ardenland.net.

• Young Valley Album Release Show April 20, 8 p.m. The alternative-country band performs to promote its self-titled album. Cary Hudson also performs. $10; ardenland.net.

• Railroad Earth April 24, 8 p.m. The Americana band’s latest EP is “Captain Nowhere.”

Shannon McNally also performs. $25 in advance, $28 day of show; ardenland.net.

Township Jazz Festival April 21, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., at The Township at Colony Park (Township Avenue, Ridgeland). The festival features music from the Benny Golson Quartet, Astral Project, the Russell Welch Hot Quartet with Aurora Nealand, The Vamps and more. Free admission; townshipjazzfestival.com.

Belhaven Grilled Cheese Festival April 22, 2-8 p.m., at Laurel Park (1841 Laurel St.). Teams compete to see which can make the best grilled cheese sandwich. Includes live music and vendors. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

“From the Rising of the Sun” April 24, 7:30 p.m., at Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.). In Ford Academic Complex. The Jackson Choral Society performs. $12, $8 for students and seniors; jacksonchoralsociety.org.

LITERARY SIGNINGS History Is Lunch April 25, noon-1 p.m., at Two Mississippi Museums (222 North St.). Authors Stan Galicki and Darrel Schmitz discuss their book, “Roadside Geology of Mississippi.” Free admission; mdah.ms.gov.

EXHIBIT OPENINGS Museum After Hours: “This Land is My Land” April 19, 5:30 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Includes artwork from Christina McField and Rory Doyle; “Re:frame,” a dialogue with former Congressman Mike Espy and Cindy Ayers; a film screening; live music; and more. Free admission; msmuseumart.org.

BE THE CHANGE Over the Edge with Friends April 21, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., at Trustmark Building (248 E. Capitol St.).

Participants can rappel down the 14-story building to raise funds for Friends of Children’s Hospital. The event includes food vendors, music and a watching area. $1,000 minimum fundraising goal; overtheedgewithfriends.com.

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.

April 19 - Stevie J Blues

April 20 - Mark Muleman Massey

April 21 - JJ Thames

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

E RE N

O RO M

Spring Farm Days April 19-21, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., at Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive). Includes cooking dem-

Sal & Mookie’s Children’s Carnival April 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint (565 Taylor St.). The event includes jump zones, carnival games, eating contests, and more. $1 per child, $2 per adult, $10 cap per family; salandmookies.com.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS Chris Young April 18, 7:30 p.m., at Brandon Amphitheater (8190 Rock Way, Brandon).

The country artist’s latest single is titled “Losing Sleep.” Kane Brown and more also perform. $105-$199; brandonamphitheater.com.

-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!

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

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

601-718-7665

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

2018 Friendship Ball April 21, 7 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.).

Dialogue Jackson presents the semi-formal event to support the organization’s goal of bringing together members of the community from different backgrounds, races and ethnicities.

Includes music, drinks, networking and more. $30-$500; dialoguejackson.com.

onstrations, educational activities to teach visitors about farmstead life, forestry and more. $6 for adults, $4 for children; msagmuseum.org.

E TH G

JFP-SPONSORED

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books Randy Hayes (born 1944), House on Mound (Delta), 2015. oil and photograph on canvas. Collection of Eason and Ellen Leake. © Courtesy of the artist.

A

The Big Trick of ‘Bluff’

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

A COMEDY ABOUT THE GREATEST LOVE STORY ALMOST NEVER TOLD

NEW STAGE THEATRE PRESENTS

BY LEE HALL, MARC NORMAN, TOM STOPPARD DIRECTED BY

APRIL 17-29, 2018 TICKETS: 601-948-3531 OR SPONSORED BY

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April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

FRANCINE THOMAS REYNOLDS

MEGAB BEAN / MYSTERIOUS PRESS

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

22

uthor Michael Kardos has always meant the illusions needed to feel real, as been drawn to the art of illusion. well. Although magicians are a tight-lipped As a teenager, the New Jersey community, he says that many professionnative got into doing magic, and als in the industry write books to share as an adult, he wanted to tackle the topic techniques with those who are interested in in his writing. mastering them.

His third novel, “Bluff” (Mysterious “The thing about sleight of hand, Press, 2018, $26), which came out April 3, which Natalie, my main character, does, does just that, but it was is that knowing the not a quick road from secret is not really the his initial idea to hitting big deal,” Kardos says. bookstore shelves.

“The big deal is being “For a long time, able to actually perform I wanted to write some the trick. So in a way, fiction involving magic when talking about dobecause I was always ing the moves, there’s a kind of struck by the lot of magic described in similarities of the two,” the book, and it’s pretty Kardos says. “You’re setmuch all real stuff.

by Micah Smith ting something up, and “All the names of you’re trying to create the moves, they’re all real this sense of wonder in things, and if a reader you audience.” comes across that and That interest sowants to seek out how lidified 18 years ago to learn it, I think that’s when he was teaching OK! It’s not really revealhis first fiction class as ing anything.” a graduate student at Kardos steers “Bluff” Ohio State University. more into the realm In that class, he met an of thriller as protagoundergraduate student nist Natalie Webb gets named Joshua Jay who wrapped up in the art also had a career as a proof card cheating. Having fessional magician. Since a novel about magic or then, Jay has performed poker center on a female for former presidents lead character diverges Barack Obama and Bill from the typical image Clinton, crafted illusions for both fields—“It’s for films and TV shows, called the magic fraterand set the world record nity for a reason,” he for the most selected says—but that is precards found from a shufcisely why he chose to fled deck in a minute. focus on Natalie.

“He was only “When I first started about 20 years old, but working on the book, I he was already traveling wasn’t thinking that my the world and had won main character would be all these contests and evfemale,” he says. “Then, erything,” Kardos says. when I started writing Mississippi author Michael Kardos released his latest “We stayed in touch some pages and a couple novel, “Bluff,” on April 3. over the years, and I’d chapters, I started thinkbeen wanting to write ing about it and realized this magic novel for a that, by making her felong time, so when I finally got around to male, it just ups the tension for everything. it, I dropped him an email and asked, ‘Will All of her day-to-day interactions, both as you be my expert? I’m going to have a lot a performer and dealing with other magiof questions.’” cians, (they were) more fraught. She had a Jay agreed to help so long as the magic lot more challenges to deal with, and it just did not suddenly turn out to be real in the seemed much more interesting to me.” novel, something that happens in quite a Michael Kardos signs copies of “Bluff” few books and movies, Kardos says. at 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 24, at Lemuria The author and Mississippi State Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 University professor already intended for N., Suite 202). For more information, visit “Bluff” to be set in real world, but that lemuriabooks.com.

Visit jfp.ms/musiclistings for more. Music listings are due noon Monday to be included: music@jacksonfreepress.com

1908 - Bill Ellison 6:30 p.m.

Alumni House - Larry Brewer 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Brandon Amphitheater - Chris Young w/ Kane Brown, Morgan Evans & Dee Jay Silver 7:30 p.m. $105-$199 Drago’s - Johnny Barranco 6-9 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Barry Leach 7-11 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Gator Trio 6:30 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Chris Gill 6-10 p.m.

April 19 - Thursday 1908 - Babs Wood 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Bonny Blair’s - Larry Brewer 7 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Duling Hall - Nikki Lane w/ Ida Mae 8 p.m. $15 advance $20 door F. Jones - Maya Kyles & F. Jones Challenge Band 10 p.m. $5 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Aaron Coker Georgia Blue, Madison - Skip McDonald Hal & Mal’s - Brian Jones 6-9 p.m.

Iron Horse - Reverend Peters 6 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Phil & Trace 6:30 p.m.

Kemistry - DJ Frathouse 9 p.m.

Library Lounge - “Paws on the Patio” feat. Chris Gill 5-8 p.m.

Pelican Cove - McCain & Reynolds 6-10 p.m.

Shucker’s - Acoustic Crossroads 7:30 p.m.

Underground 119 - Stevie J 7 p.m.

Martin’s - Kern Pratt 6-8:30 p.m. free; Flow Tribe 10 p.m. $15 The Mosquito - Kicking, Ming Donkey & more 7-11:30 p.m. $5 Pelican Cove - Phil & Trace 6 p.m.

Shucker’s - Ron Etheridge 5:30 p.m.; Snazz 8 p.m. $5; Todd Smith 10 p.m.

Underground 119 - Mark Muleman Massey 8:30 p.m.

April 21 - Saturday Bonny Blair’s - Aaron Coker Band 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Cathead Distillery - “The Last Boil” feat. Eric Deaton Trio 1-8 p.m.

Crawdad Hole - Sid Thompson & DoubleShotz 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Cups, Clinton - “Cups Street Revival” feat. Empty Atlas, Sun & Co., Paul Vinson & more 3-10 p.m. free Doe’s, Florence - Joe Carroll 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Duling Hall - The Lone Bellow w/ Devon Gilfillian 8 p.m. $20 F. Jones - Big Money Mel & Small Change Wayne 10 p.m. $5; Smokestack Lightnin’ midnight $10

April 22 - SUNDAY 1908 - Knight Bruce 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

The Flamingo - Sunday Nite Slow Jams 6-9 p.m. $5 Pelican Cove - Steel Blue Trio noon; Bonfire Orchestra 5-9 p.m.

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

Benny Golson Georgia Blue, Flowood - Andy Tanas Georgia Blue, Madison - Brandon Greer Hal & Mal’s - Thomas Jackson 7 p.m. free Iron Horse - Carlos Elliot 9 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Lucky Hand Blues Band 7-10:30 p.m.

Kemistry - DJ Trigga 9 p.m.

Martin’s - “Battle of the Brass” Crawfish Boil feat. Southern Komfort & Epic Funk 1-5 p.m.; Roots of a Rebellion 10 p.m. $10 Pelican Cove - Ronnie McGee Trio 1-5 p.m.; Faze 4 6-10 p.m.

Treat your sweetheart to a night out and the best latin food in town with our

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

All for $30

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

2481 Lakeland Drive Flowood | 601.932.4070

Township

Festival Sat. april 21, 2018

April 23 - Monday

The Benny Golson Quartet

Hal & Mal’s - Central MS Blues Society (rest) 7 p.m. $5 Kathryn’s - Barry Leach 6:30 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Josh Journeay 6 p.m.

Russell Welch Hot Quartet Astral Project Welch • The Vamps Russell

April 24 - Tuesday

April 20 - Friday 1908 - Ronnie McGee 6:30 p.m.

Bonny Blair’s - Travelin’ Jane 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Cerami’s - James Bailey & Linda Blackwell 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Doe’s, Florence - Big Earl from Pearl 7-9 p.m.

Duling Hall - Young Valley w/ Cary Hudson 8 p.m. $10 F. Jones - Robert Kimbrough Sr. midnight $10 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Shaun Patterson Georgia Blue, Madison - Wes Johnson Hal & Mal’s - Barry Leach 7 p.m.

Iron Horse - Bernard Jenkins 9 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Acoustic Crossroads 7-10:30 p.m.

Shucker’s - The Axe-identals 3:30 p.m.; Snazz 8 p.m. $5; Josh Journeay 10 p.m.

Thalia Mara - Monica 7:30 p.m. $39-$49 The Township - Township Jazz Fest feat. Benny Golson Quartet, Russell Welch, The Vamps & more 7-11 p.m. free Tougaloo Woodworth Chapel - MS Symphony Orchestra 7:30 p.m. $20 admission $5 students Underground 119 - jj Thames 9 p.m.

Eleventh Annual

Duling Hall - Railroad Earth w/ Shannon McNally 8 p.m. $25 advance $28 day of show Fenian’s - Open Mic Hal & Mal’s - Raphael Semmes & Friends 6-9 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Keys vs. Strings 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Martin’s - Chris Gill 6-8:30 p.m. free Millsaps Ford Academic Complex Jackson Choral Society 7:30 p.m. $12, $8 students & seniors Pelican Cove - Acoustic Crossroads Duo 6-10 p.m.

FREE

ADMISSION!

Southern H o t Komfort Q u a r& tMore! et with special guest

Aurora Nealand

Townshipjazzfestival.com Astral Project

April 25 - Wednesday 1908 - Bill Ellison 6:30 p.m.

Alumni House - Hunter Gibson 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Duling Hall - Pigeons Playing Ping Pong w/ Funk You 7:30 p.m. $13 advance $15 day of show Hal & Mal’s - New Bourbon Street Jazz Band 6-9 p.m. free Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 28, 2018 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM The Manship Tickets $50 / Tables Available

April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

April 18 - Wednesday

Courtesy Benny Golson

MUSIC | live

23

eyepiece?

47 Clean thoroughly 50 Exist 51 Word before par or pressure 52 95 things posted by Martin Luther 54 Fix, as a game 56 Actress Lupino 57 ‘50s election monogram 58 Similar (to) 61 Actress Russo 63 Rock nightclub open for a long time?

66 Critters that seem to find sugar 69 Dot in the ocean 70 “Easy-Bake” appliance 71 Treats, as a sprain 72 Grant consideration 73 Pied Piper’s followers 74 Shakespearean king

BY MATT JONES

36 Recycling container 37 “Jazz Masters” org.

41 Spectators 42 Earned a ticket, perhaps 43 Juno’s Greek counterpart 45 Like ___ (energetically) 46 Winter Olympics sled 47 Skip going out 48 It may come in sticks or wheels 49 Thrift shop purpose 53 Genre where you’d hear “pick it up!” a lot 55 Jeremy of 2018’s “Red Sparrow”

59 “Young Frankenstein” role 60 PBS science show for 45 seasons 62 Press-on item 64 Clifford’s color 65 Figure out (like this answer) 67 Drink from a bag?

68 Tajikistan was one (abbr.) ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com)

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 #873.

Down

“It Bears Repeating” —but just a little bit.

Across

1 Ballet garb 5 Cotton swab brand 9 Forfeit 13 Seafood often imitated 14 Abbr. on some beef 15 Soda, to a bartender 16 He followed Dan, Al, Dick, and Joe 17 Action star who’s yellow and full of potassium?

19 Notable times 21 University official 22 ___ in “cat” 23 “___ du lieber!”

25 Negative votes 27 Minute 29 Make frog noises 31 Ms. ___-Man 34 Madalyn Murray ___, subject of the Netflix film “The Most Hated Woman in America” 35 Shake it for an alcohol-based dessert?

38 Inkling 39 Jim Carrey comedy “Me, Myself & ___” 40 Dermatologist’s concern 44 Classical piece for a jeweler’s

1 Cable channel that airs films from the 1900s 2 Self-proclaimed spoon-bender Geller 3 Pay after taxes 4 Lyft competitor 5 Tex-Mex dip ingredient 6 Co. that launched Dungeons & Dragons 7 “___ not know that!”

8 Walking speed 9 Ohio team, on scoreboards 10 Track bet with long odds 11 North America’s tallest mountain 12 It’s opposite the point 15 Cassava root 18 ___ Harbour, Florida 20 Songwriter Paul 23 Prefix before -monious 24 Gunky stuff 26 “This is ___!” (“300” line) 28 Charlize of “Atomic Blonde” 30 Calculator with beads 32 “He’s ___ friend” 33 Easy gallop

Last Week’s Answers

BY MATT JONES Last Week’s Answers

“Movie Sudoku”

Solve this as you would a regular sudoku, except using the nine given letters instead of numbers. When you’re done, each row, column and 3x3 box will contain each of the nine given letters exactly one time. In addition, one row or column will reveal, either backward or forward, the name of a famous movie. psychosudoku@gmail.com

SMART THE

CHOICE April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

FOR PRE - K

24

ST. ANDREW’S HAS SET THE STANDARD FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE SINCE 1947. With a new Early Childhood Center and outstanding programming for young learners, there’s no better time for your family to experience the St. Andrew’s difference.

To schedule your visit, call 601.987.9323 or go to gosaints.org

In the early history of the automobile, electric engines were more popular and common than gasoline-powered engines. They were less noisy, dirty, smelly and difficult to operate. It’s too bad that thereafter the technology for gasoline cars developed at a faster rate than the technology for electric cars. By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the petroleumsuckers were in ascendance. They have remained so ever since, playing a significant role in our world’s ongoing environmental degradation. Moral of the story: Sometimes the original idea or the early model or the first try is better. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you should consider applying this hypothesis to your current state of affairs.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

The Chesapeake Bay is a fertile estuary that teems with life. It’s 200 miles long and holds 18 trillion gallons of water.

More than 150 streams and rivers course into its drainage basin. And yet it’s relatively shallow. If you’re six feet tall, you could wade through over a thousand square miles of its mix of fresh and salt water without getting your hat wet. I see this place as an apt metaphor for your life in the coming weeks: an expanse of flowing fecundity that is vast but not so deep that you’ll get overwhelmed.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

You’ll soon arrive at a pressure-packed turning point. You’ll stand poised at a pivotal twist of fate where you must trust your intuition to reveal the differences between smart risks and careless gambles. Are you willing to let your half-naked emotions show? Will you have the courage to be brazenly loyal to your deepest values? I won’t wish you luck because how the story evolves will be fueled solely by your determination, not by accident or happenstance. You will know you’re in a good position to solve the Big Riddles if they feel both scary and fun.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Strong softness is one of your specialties. So are empathetic rigor, creative responsiveness and daring acts of nurturing. Now is a perfect time to summon and express all of these qualities with extra flair. If you do, your influence will exceed its normal quotas. Your ability to heal and inspire your favorite people will be at a peak. So I hereby invite you to explore the frontiers of aggressive receptivity.

Wield your courage and power with a fierce vulnerability.

Be tenderly sensitive as an antidote to any headstrong lovelessness you encounter.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

his song an “otherworldly quality that added a whole new dimension.” Now let’s meditate on how this story might serve as a parable for your life. Was there an opportunity that you once turned down but will benefit from anyway? Or is there a current opportunity that maybe you shouldn’t turn down, even if it seems odd?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

You’ve been to the Land of No Return and back more than anyone. But soon you’ll be visiting a remote enclave in this realm that you’re not very familiar with. I call it the Mother Lode of Sexy Truth. It’s where tender explorers go when they must transform outworn aspects of their approach to partnership and togetherness. On the eve of your quest, shall we conduct an inventory of your capacity to outgrow your habitual assumptions about relationships? No, let’s not. That sounds too stiff and formal. Instead, I’ll simply ask you to strip away any falseness that interferes with vivacious and catalytic intimacy.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

In 1824, two British explorers climbed a mountain in southwestern Australia. They were hoping to get a sweeping view of Port Phillip Bay, on which the present-day city of Melbourne is located. But when they reached the top, their view was largely obstructed by trees. Out of perverse spite, they decided to call the peak Mount Disappointment, a name it retains to this day. I suspect you may soon have your own personal version of an adventure that falls short of your expectations. I hope—and also predict—that your experience won’t demoralize you, but will rather mobilize you to attempt a new experiment that ultimately surpasses your original expectations.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

In 1973, Pink Floyd released the album “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Since then, it has been on various Billboard charts for more than 1,700 weeks, and has sold more than 45 million copies. Judging from the astrological aspects coming to bear on you, Leo, I suspect you could create or produce a beautiful thing with a similar staying power in the next five months. What vitalizing influence would you like to have in your life for at least the next 30 years?

Capricorn rock musician Lemmy Kilmister bragged that he swigged a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey every day from 1975 to 2013. While I admire his dedication to inducing altered states of consciousness, I can’t recommend such a strategy for you. But I will love it if you undertake a more disciplined crusade to escape numbing routines and irrelevant habits in the next four weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will have a special knack for this practical art.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

I beg you to take a break sometime soon. Give yourself permission to indulge in a vacation or recess or sabbatical.

Wander away on a leave of absence. Explore the mysteries of a siesta blended with a fiesta. If you don’t grant yourself this favor, I may be forced to bark “Chill out, dammit!” at you until you do. Please don’t misunderstand my intention here. The rest of us appreciate the way you’ve been attending to the complicated details that are too exacting for us. But we can also see that if you don’t ease up, there will soon be diminishing returns. It’s time to return to your studies of relaxing freedom.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Singer-songwriter Roy Orbison achieved great success in the 1960s, charting 22 songs on the Billboard Top 40. But his career declined after that. Years later, in 1986, filmmaker David Lynch asked him for the right to use his tune “In Dreams” for the movie Blue Velvet. Orbison denied the request, but Lynch incorporated the tune anyway. Surprise!

Blue Velvet was nominated for an Academy Award and played a big role in reviving Orbison’s fame. Later the singer came to appreciate not only the career boost, but also Lynch’s unusual aesthetic, testifying that the film gave

Germany was one of the big losers of World War I, which ended in 1919. By accepting the terms of the Versailles Treaty, it agreed to pay reparations equivalent to 96,000 tons of gold. Not until 2010, decades after the war, did Germany finally settle its bill and fulfill its obligation. I’m sure your own big, long-running debt is nowhere near as big or as long-running as that one, Aquarius. But you will nonetheless have reason to be ecstatic when you finally discharge it. And according to my reading of the astrological omens, that could and should happen sometime soon.

(P.S. The “debt” could be emotional or spiritual rather than financial.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

“I would rather have a drop of luck than a barrel of brains,” said the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes. Fortunately, that’s not a choice you will have to face in the coming weeks, Pisces. According to my reading of the cosmic signs, your brain will be working with even greater efficiency and ingenuity than it usually does. Meanwhile, a stronger-thanexpected flow of luck will be swirling around in your vicinity.

One of your main tasks will be to harness your enhanced intelligence to take shrewd advantage of the good fortune.

Homework: It’s easy to see fanaticism, rigidity, and intolerance in other people, but harder to acknowledge them in yourself. Do you dare? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

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April 18 - 24, 2018 • jfp.ms

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

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me

One, Come

l! l A

COMING UP

_________________________

THURSDAY 4/19

To The Annual

Sal & Mookie’s Children’s Carnival for Batson Children’s Hospital

BRIAN JONES Dining Room - 6:30pm - Free FRIDAY 4/20

Dining Room - 7pm - Free _________________________

SATURDAY 4/21

jump zones � games & prizes � eating contests � fun for everyone!

THOMAS JACKSON

Dining Room - 7pm - Free _________________________

salandmookies.com 601.368.1919

MONDAY 4/23

CENTRAL MS BLUES SOCIETY PRESENTS:

22 acts including The Chill, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, the Original Lakeside, Shirley Jones of the Jones Girls, Tucka, Uncle Kracker and William Michael Morgan Tickets are $20 / $35 Weekend Pass $100 VIP Pass FREE SATURDAY DAYTIME ACTIVITIES RiverFest Arts and Crafts Show !DULT 3OFTBALL 4OURNAMENT s "ARBECUE #OOKOFF +ID S ,AND s #RAWl SH s 'OSPEL&EST s -/2%

April 20 - 21, 2018

YOUNG VALLEY

ALBUM RELEASE SHOW come party with jackson folk rock heroes

this week!

Saturday, April 21

THE LONE BELLOW one of our favorite indie folk acts returns!

Tuesday, April 24

RAILROAD EARTH

w/ SHANNON MCNALLY

PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG

Wednesday, April 25 w/ FUNK YOU

one of the hottest new funk and jam bands out!

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RAPHAEL SEMMES Dining Room - 6-9pm - Free _________________________

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UPCOMING: _________________________

4/25 New Bourbon Street Jazz Band 4/26 The Mammoths 4/26 D’Lo Trio 4/27 Singer Songwriters 4/27 Country Cousinz Concert Series 4: Jxn vs. Ala & Fla 4/28 Sherman Lee Dillon 4/30 Blue Monday 5/1 Dinner, Drinks & Jazz with Raphael Semmes and Friends 5/5 - JFC 11th Annual $10,000 Drawdown and Silent Auction _________________________ OFFICIAL

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Friday, April 20

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Thursday, April 19

NIKKI LANE

_________________________

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legendary memphis rockers return to duling!

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child singer - might be small but has a huge voice!

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