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$360 MILLION SHORTFALL LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW 2010, PP. 14 - 19

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Vol. 8 | No. 17 January 7 - 13, 2010

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Saving Women’s Lives

NCAA: Lost In Hell

Mott, p. 4

Yargo, p. 36

Levee Games

The City’s Best Events Calendar

Lynch, pp. 10 - 11

pp. 26-27 and jfpevents.com

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B

istro 200 Executive Chef Nick Wallace and his staff serve a selection of menu items customized to appease their customers’ palettes. From world travelers to Southwest Airlines pilots to downtown Jackson businessmen and women, anyone dining will experience food with a fresh flavor created from one of the highest quality standards of any hotel brand.

“That’s what sets us apart,” says Wallace. “We Nick Wallace cook with love and passion and offer a fine dining experience.”

Located in the downtown Marriott, Bistro 200 has an eclectic menu designed daily

by Wallace. Using local produce from vegetables, blueberries, even molasses and honey is something Wallace takes pride in.

“Those dining with us for breakfast can build their own breakfast parfait with colorful, healthy, locally grown berries and add granola, which is made fresh every day at Bistro 200,” says Wallace.

Breakfast starts at 6:30 a.m. with favorites ordered by customers including the fresh cornbread hash and poached eggs or the black forest ham with applewood bacon and hash browns. If opting for a healthier breakfast item, try the crispy whole wheat French toast topped with fresh berries and bananas.

Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Choose the salt and pepper calamari with Wasabi aioli or try the Asian chicken lettuce wraps, where you can roll your own wraps served with sweet chili sauce. A variety of paninis and hamburgers are also on the menu.

January 7 - 13, 2010

“All burgers are Angus and are the best because the meat has been Marriott Food Safety Tested (MFST), and the steaks are cut daily,” says Wallace. “The Marriott makes sure that our customers enjoy the finest and freshest products.”

2

At 5:30 p.m., dinner is served and entrees include the fresh catch of the day from Copper River Salmon to Red Trout. Satisfy your taste bud cravings with the Miso Glazed Salmon complimented with pineapple mint relish, steamed Jasmine rice, and seasonal fresh vegetables. A popular dinner item is the Linguine Carbonara, a cream sauce cooked with pancetta, fresh peas, and shaved parmesan.

Visit Bistro 200 at 200 East Amite Street in the downtown Marriott in Jackson.

For more information, call 601-969-5100.

jacksonian

James C. Thompson struggles valiantly to fold his 6-foot-3-inch frame behind the tiny table at Cups in Brandon. As he shifts and rearranges, he bangs his knee and laughs.

He’s used to tight spaces.

Thompson is the co-founder of the Jackson political consulting firm Blue Dot Group, which he says was named because the group’s political affiliations make them “a little blue dot in a big red state.”

Thompson, 31, a native of Dallas, came to Mississippi to attend Millsaps College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in theater in 2000. After achieving his masters’ degree in acting at New York’s Actor’s Studio Drama School, Thompson played small roles in such notable TV series as “Sex and the City,” “Wired” and “The Sopranos.”

Unsure of a career in acting, but with no real plans for the future, Thompson returned to Texas. “I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do, and I didn’t know what else to do,” he says.

An e-mail from his old Millsaps roommate Sam Hall, now the executive director of the Mississippi Democratic Party, changed everything.

Hall was working on the 2008 Jim Kitchens’ “Kitchens for Justice” campaign in Jackson and asked Thompson to join him.

Thompson accepted and found he genuinely enjoyed the work. He also discovered a deep affection for his adopted city.

DEANNA GRAVES

jason thompson “I think it’s just the charm of Jackson.

I mean, it’s the biggest little town I have ever lived in, and it’s the smallest big city I’ve ever lived in,” Thompson says.

“I want to make a difference here,” he says. “I think we owe it to the future to have better education, for God’s sake, better education. Get these kids out of these crowded classrooms; pay more attention to them. Don’t let them fall through the cracks. There’s no reason a fifth-grader should be illiterate.”

Thompson takes a deep breath and runs his hand through his sandy-brown hair. Taking a sip of his coffee, he continues, quieter now but no less passionate. “It seems if we just shut up and worked together to get something accomplished, we can do something productive and not be having the same conversation 10 years down the line. You have to make a change; you have to make some sacrifices.

Things are going to be uncomfortable. Do it for the greater good,” he says.

Thompson often works out of his Brandon home he shares with girlfriend, Lisa Kirk, co-owner of Cups in Crossgates. Blue Dot demands much of his time but Thompson still acts occasionally, appearing recently in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” at New Stage Theatre.

As for the future, Thompson is circumspect. “Let’s just say I am really looking forward to the 2010 campaign cycle,” he says.

—Deanna Graves

Cover photograph by Ken Lund VOL.

Januar y 7 - 13, 2 0 1 0

8 NO. 17

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36

Save Women

Locking Them Up

Imagine

See you in Hell

Mott on how the Legislature can save the lives of women like Heather Spencer and Doris Shavers (above).

Gov. Haley Barbour’s proposal to cut mental health facilities could force mentally ill patients into jail.

“Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” inspires our inner child and inner chef.

John Yargo calls out deadly NCAA sins.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 4 Editor’s Note 22 Food

4 Slow Poke 24 8 Days

6 Talk

12 Zuga

26 JFP events

12 Chatter

28 Music

12 Stiggers

30 Music Listing

12 Editorial 32 Books

21 FLY 36 Sports

22 Arts 37 Astro

FILE PHOTO; WARD SCHAEFER; COURTESY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION; COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

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jacksonfreepress.com

contents

3

Adam Lynch Award-winning senior reporter Adam Lynch is a Winona native and graduate of Jackson State.

He and his wife live in North Jackson. E-mail news tips to adam@jacksonfreepress.com, or call him at 601-362-6121, ext. 8.

He wrote the cover story.

Kristin Brenemen Editorial designer Kristin Brenemen is a local anime otaku with an ever-full mug of coffee and cream. She fears the inevitable Robot Apocalypse but is prepared for the oncoming Zombie Invasion.

She designed the cover and many pages in this issue.

Kimberly Griffin Advertising coordinator Kimberly Griffin is a Jackson native who likes yoga, supporting locally owned businesses and traveling. In her spare time she plots how she can become Michelle’s Obama’s water holder.

Deanna Graves Deanna Graves is a caffeineaddicted-liberal-Yankee chick searching for her niche in the Deep South. She spends her time as a freelance writer and communications major at Mississippi College. She wrote the Jacksonian.

ShaWanda Jacorne Assistant to the editor ShaWanda Jacome recently returned to Mississippi after living in California for more than 20 years. She loves spending time with her family and enjoys good food, movies, reading and music. She coordinated the gift guide.

Korey Harrion Web producer Korey Harrion is a saxophonist who runs a small computer repair business. He enjoys reading, writing and playing music, origami and playing video games. He loves animals, especially dogs. He posts the Web stories for each issue.

Byron Wilkes Mad, bad and dangerous to know, Byron Wilkes craves sushi incessantly, and has considered living in Tokyo. He was editorin-chief of his school’s paper at Middle Tennessee State University and is a reporter for The Meridian Star. He wrote the book review.

January 7 - 13, 2010

Kalissia Veal

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Editorial intern Kalissia Veal resides in Clinton. Though music is almost second to none in her life, she is just as passionate about writing. She plans to attend Howard University in 2010 to study journalism. She wrote a buzz.

editor’snote

by Ronni Mott, Associate Editor

Not One More Victim

W

orking on the Sept. 26, 2007, cover story, “Grant Me Justice: Two Women Killed in Two Weeks,” changed my life.

Freelance writer Candy Hagwood was completing interviews for the story of Doris Shavers, 40, shot dead by her former boyfriend moments after Jackson police officers left her home Sept. 17, 2007, and she needed a photographer. I took photos of Shavers’ kin and of her living room—the scene of the crime—where police had left cartridge casings and bloody pillows on her couch.

I spent that warm September afternoon with a lump in my throat, blinking back tears as Shavers’ brother recounted the horrific details of what he witnessed.

The news in Jackson the day Henry Phillips murdered Shavers was about another woman murdered by her boyfriend just days before: George Bell III murdered Heather Spencer Sept. 11, 2007.

The day before going to press, editor-inchief Donna Ladd decided to combine the two stories for the cover, and I spent hours interviewing victims’ families, lawyers and domestic-violence experts, running to pick up documents, or get one more photograph, or one more question answered, one more detail clarified. Candy was on a long-planned vacation in Disney World, typing up notes and interviews while waiting in line for rides. Donna pulled it all together into a coherent story.

It was some of the hardest work I’ve ever done from an emotional standpoint—Candy, too, no doubt—but in the long run, it’s work that has profoundly strengthened me.

Since that story, domestic violence has become one of my “beats” for the JFP. And when Gov. Haley Barbour suspended Michael Graham’s sentence on July 17, 2008, I dug in again. Graham got life for cold-bloodedly murdering his ex-wife, Adrienne Klasky, virtually decapitating her with a shotgun blast while she sat in her car at a traffic light. We learned Graham wasn’t the only woman killer Barbour let loose; he set three others free.

Writing about these events hasn’t become easier. Every time I speak with Linda Francomb, Heather Spencer’s mother, I get a lump in my throat. Reading police reports of the violence men do to women is horrifying, making my skin crawl and the bile rise in my throat. But by now, I’m a woman on a mission: Not another woman should die at the hands of her abuser; not another abuser should be walking the streets without having paid his debt. And if what it takes to get there is being uncomfortable, it pales in comparison to what other women have gone through.

What’s surprised me is how many women share the experience of domestic abuse. Shortly after working on that first story, I was having lunch with five women friends.

It didn’t take long to discover that four of us had been in abusive relationships, some more than one, some more violent than others. I’ve been there, as have some of my most cherished woman friends.

Domestic violence and rape seem to be the only crimes where the victims get blamed first and last, and it would be easy to sink into self-pity and blame ourselves for our misfortunes. “Why did she put up with it?” and “Why didn’t she leave?” are questions still more often asked than “Why did he hit her?” or “Why wasn’t he behind bars?”

It’s time for women, and the men who love them, to make some changes—it’s time for a change in attitudes, a change in perception and a change in domestic-violence laws.

Fortunately in this economy, little of that takes big buckets of money to achieve. What does take cash—education and outreach programs—already have some funding sources in Mississippi, from legislation passed last year funding the Mississippi Domestic Violence Fund, to the JFP’s own annual Chick Ball that helped seed a Duluth Model behavioral modification program for abusers last year.

The bad economy and shrinking budget is not an excuse for failing to add teeth to laws protecting women.

How much does it cost, for example, to add a no-fault divorce statute to the state’s code that would allow women to permanently shed their toxic and abusive marriage partners?

Domestic abuse is about power and control, and Mississippi’s expensive divorce procedures are an impediment to women, while feeding abusers’ needs to control their victims until the bitter end. If nothing else, he can withhold a divorce for years—pretty much as long as he wants to—if his victim doesn’t have thousands to pay for a lawyer. That needs to change.

What is the price tag for adding an attempted-murder statute? When a man threatens to kill a woman if she tries to leave him and then adds a black eye or a broken arm as punctuation, that man should be put

behind bars, preferably for a very long time.

With today’s laws, that man could get a few months in jail, a fine or could walk away with no more than a perfunctory slap on the wrist.

That needs to change.

Should Mississippi make it incumbent on a witness to report a crime? Robbie Bell spent hours in her house with Heather Spencer’s body, at least some of that time on her own, never calling for help and violating no existing law. That needs to change.

It wouldn’t cost the state of Mississippi a damn thing to put a law on the books prohibiting someone convicted of a DV charge or the subject of a protective order from buying a gun or ammunition. Nor would it cost a penny to enact a domestic-violence statute penalizing strangulation, a big red flashing-light predictor for future violent behavior.

Mississippi’s current stalking laws could use help, too. Right now, a woman has to prove she’s in danger of being killed by her stalker. It’s not enough just to be too scared to leave your house. That’s ridiculous.

Can the Legislature get all of this done in one session? Probably not. Should that stop us from beating the drum to take action? No way. In my wildest dreams, I even entertain the notion that the Legislature will curtail the governor’s pardoning power, or at least make him responsible (perish the thought) for notifying victims and their families.

Nothing ever happens by thinking small or accepting the status quo. Our brave, wild dreams are where all of us get the courage and the power to make change happen.

In the meantime, I’ll keep blinking back tears and clearing that lump in my throat.

And writing the next story—until there are no more stories to write and women are safe.

That’s the only good ending for the dream.

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news, culture & irreverence

Thursday, December 31 The U.S. Department of Labor reports that a record 20 million people collected unemployment benefits at some point during 2009. … The Brookings Institution of Washington, D.C., ranks Jackson as No. 9 on the list of its “strongest 20 metros” for the third quarter of 2009.

Friday, January 1 AT&T announces it will no longer sponsor Tiger Woods due to his indefinite leave from golf to work on his marriage. … Pennsylvania State defeats Louisiana State 19-17 at the Capitol One Bowl.

Saturday, January 2 U.S. Gen. Ray Odierno tells the Associated Press that a delay in Iraq’s national elections will prevent American combat forces from leaving as scheduled at the end of August. … Ole Miss defeats Oklahoma State 21-7 in the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas.

A Barbour-Palin Ticket for 2012?

M

ississippi State University political science professor Marty Wiseman predicted that a Sarah Palin/Haley Barbour ticket could easily win the Republican presidential primary in 2012.

Palin, the former governor of Alaska who abandoned her office last year under an ethics cloud, has been making a big name for herself over the last few months. Barbour, meanwhile, will be unable to run for Mississippi governor after this term, and may be fishing around for another political post, providing he does not dedicate his full efforts to being chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a high-powered Washington lobbyist.

Wiseman said the two personalities would balance one another well.

“If you get Palin out on the right, you wouldn’t want to try to balance that with somebody like her because it would be too lopsided. You need someone who covers the waterfront,” Wiseman said.

“Haley is the most intimately known personality by the most Republicans. You got big names on the national news, but he’s the most huggable Republican by folks from all parts of the country out there.”

Wiseman, director of Mississippi State University’s John C. Stennis Institute of Government, described Palin as a well-known personality capable of riding the crest of the tea-party wave currently inundating the GOP. But the movement is homogenized and

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour would complement Sarah Palin on a GOP presidential ticket, political professor Marty Wiseman says.

vanilla, with little variety in philosophy or racial make-up, which would not likely win enough national moderates to win the White House. Barbour, by comparison, presses republicans to be more inclusive. As chairman of the Republican National Committee in the 1990s, Barbour backed moderate candidates like New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and California Gov. Pete Wilson.

Wiseman said Barbour—or at least somebody like him—would be needed to deflect attacks on Palin’s character: “They’re going to have this woman that’s going to be portrayed as ditsy and unreliable and having quit on the only executive job on a state level that she ever had, and they’re going to be looking for gravitas and stability. ... (Barbour’s) chairman of the Republican Governors As-

Sunday, January 3 The Minnesota Vikings defeat the New York Giants 70-44. … The Carolina Panthers defeat the New Orleans Saints 23-10.

January 7 - 13, 2010

Monday, January 4 A cold air mass brings freezing temperatures to the state, forcing cities to open additional shelters to the public. … Former Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter reports to prison in McCreary, Ky. to serve his 18-month sentence for obstruction of justice for lying to federal agents. ... U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia visits Jackson to speak to Mississippi College law students at First Baptist Church.

6

Tuesday, January 5 Mississippi legislators head back to the state Capitol for the start of this year’s legislative session with a $360 million shortfall to wrangle. … The National Association of Realtors announces a 16 percent decrease in pending home sales for November.

City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen wants more government accountability. p. 8

BRYANT HAWKINS

Wednesday, December 30 In an attempt to shorten the presidential primary process, Democratic Party leaders announce that the 2012 Democratic Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary will not occur before Feb. 1. ... The Jackson Salvation Army announces that the annual Christmas kettle campaign fell $32,000 short of its $300,000 goal.

In 1982 during his run for the U.S. Senate, Gov. Haley Barbour sparked controversy when he told a press aide to stop using racist language, or he would be “reincarnated as a watermelon and placed at the mercy of blacks.”

by Adam Lynch sociation, and he’s a two-term successful governor. You can’t get much more bona fide than that,” Wiseman said.

Barbour would doubtless carry serious weight in the primary, as would Palin, who served as a unifying personality for the Republican base in the early part of her campaign with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., last year.

When asked to choose among some of the GOP’s top names for their choice for the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, 64 percent of Republicans chose Palin in a November 2009 Rasmussen poll. Critics argue over whether an easy glide in the primary would translate into a clear win in the general election, however.

Brad Chism, president of Democratic polling company Zata|3 Consulting, said anybody writing off Barbour’s ability to carry a general election is making a mistake.

“The political landscape is strewn with the bodies of people who have underestimated Haley Barbour,” Chism said. “He’s been good at what he does. Palin is an idiot, but Barbour’s a complement to any ticket.”

Chism said he thought it unlikely that the governor would add himself to a ticket containing Palin.

“I don’t think he would join a ticket with so much gravitas in the No. 2 slot and so little at the top of the ticket. A Barbour-Pawlenty ticket would be more plausible,” Chism said, referencing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who chose not to seek a third term in 2010.

by JFP Staff

Mississippi state HUG GAB LE

“Haley is the most intimately known personality by the most Republicans. You got big names on the national news, but he’s the most huggable Republican by folks from all parts of the country out there.”

– Marty Wiseman, director of Mississippi State University’s John C. Stennis Institute of Government, on Gov. Haley Barbour’s potential bid in the 2012 GOP primaries.

laws that need to go • If both parties voluntarily participate in “unnatural intercourse,” it can result in a maximum sentence of 10 years and $10,000.

• In Canton, it is illegal to kill a squirrel with a gun in a courtroom.

• Being barefoot is allowed around friends and acquaintances, but outlawed among strangers.

• In Tylertown, Miss., it is unlawful to shave in the middle of a main street.

• A man may not seduce a woman by lying, and claiming he will marry her. (OK, maybe that one can stay.)

• A mother’s dying words can be used as evidence in a paternity trial concerning her child.

• If the owner of a roaming, rowdy cat can be located, he or she may be placed in jail along with his or her cat.

• It is illegal to teach others what polygamy is.

• Cattle rustling is punishable by hanging.

justicebuzz

by Ward Schaefer

All-Levels Anusara Yoga® WORKSHOP

T

he United States should not look to other countries when interpreting its own Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Monday, Jan. 4, in a Jackson speech sponsored by the Mississippi College School of Law. “If there was any thought absolutely foreign to the founders of our country, surely it was the notion that we Americans should be governed the way Europeans are,” Scalia told the audience of roughly 600. If the Supreme Court takes cues from foreign law, it cannot do so selectively, Scalia argued. He pointed to the Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v.

Texas, which found state laws banning sodomy to be unconstitutional and in which he dissented. Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in that case cited a 1981 decision of the European Court of Human Rights to argue that Western civilization did not uniformly condemn homosexuality.

Among non-European countries, laws prohibiting homosexuality are more common, Scalia pointed out, meaning that the Court had arbitrarily selected European precedent to justify its decision. On the other

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Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia defended American judicial traditions in a Jackson speech at First Baptist Church.

hand, the Court has not relied on foreign law in abortion cases, Scalia noted, despite the fact that the United States places fewer restrictions on abortion than many other developed Western nations. Scalia also said that he was worried by a mounting trend of appointing career judges to the Supreme Court.

“More and more people practice for a couple years, then they become a minor state court judge and they stay in the judiciary the rest of their career. ... If our whole judiciary becomes like that, we’re going to become European. I may as well move to France.”

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The route for the third annual Mississippi Blues Marathon will start and end at Capitol and State streets in downtown Jackson.

Mississippi.” More than $30,000 will be given away as prizes to the winners in various categories. Sewell said marathon proceeds will benefit the Mississippi Blues Commission. Last year the commission received $10,000 from the marathon.

“It’s our third year for the event, and we are starting to see all the things we always wanted to happen,” Sewell said. “We really hope neighborhoods and people come out to cheer on the runners.

They really feed off that energy.”

For more information about the marathon or to register, visit www.ms bluesmarathon.com.

IF YOU HAVE A WEDDING COMING UP AND YOU’D LIKE TO BE PROFILED IN HITCHED, CONTACT THE JFP HITCHED STAFF AT jacksonfreepress.com

T

he third annual Mississippi Blues Marathon will start and end at the intersection of Capitol and State streets in downtown Jackson this Saturday, Jan. 9. Event organizer John Sewell said about 2,000 runners from 46 states and four countries are expected to participate in the marathon and half marathon, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield, and kicking off at 7 a.m.

For the first time, all events associated with the marathon will take place within downtown’s borders.

“We have changed the course from Fondren to give runners better proximity,” he said. “This year, downtown will be the focus for everything. The start and finish lines are within walking distance to hotels.”

On Jan. 7 and 8, the pre-race Blues Expo will take place at the Jackson Convention Complex, and will include various vendors and a presentation by motivational speakers Bill Rodgers and Dane Rauschenberg. After the race on Saturday night, the Fondren Trolley will take runners to Underground 119, Martin’s and Fire for blues concerts. (Admission fees for the expo and concerts are included in the registration cost.)

Recently, Runner’s World magazine recognized the Blues Marathon as having the “best swag” for runners. Sewell said this year’s swags will consist of a drawstring bag, harmonica and the soundtrack from the blues documentary “M for

FILE PHOTO

Running the Blues

by Kalissia Veal

7

citydish

by Adam Lynch

City Attorney: More Accountability, Less Drama istration and a council that, for the most part, have Jackson’s best interest at heart.

ADAM LYNCH

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W

hat are the changes you’re helping to bring about?

In 2010, what you want to see from the city is more accountability from all the departments and a more efficient delivery of government services. That means the creation of various internal procedures that allow us to hold ourselves accountable and provide services to the public in a timely and efficient manner.

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305 Clinton Blvd. Clinton, MS • 601.924.2728 Jackson City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen wants more government accountability.

J

ackson City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen officially adopted his job in October, although in truth he had been filling the role in some capacity for more than five years. Teeuwissen, 43, was the city’s legal defense attorney until former City Attorney Sarah O’Reilly-Evans left her post after the 2009 municipal election.

Teeuwissen, a Tougaloo College and University of Minnesota Law School graduate, served as a managing partner in the law firm of former Mayor Dale Danks before serving as a special Hinds County Circuit Court judge and a senior deputy and special assistant, to the city attorney between November 2004 and June 2009.

Teeuwissen served as one of the city’s better guardians of its tort fund during the Melton administration, successfully beating back many lawsuits, and keeping some of the more potentially devastating suits to a financial minimum. Teeuwissen made clear his eagerness for the position, even before O’Reilly-Evans left, and got an easy confirmation from the city council late last year.

H

ow are you liking your new digs?

I gotta say I’m liking them a lot.

W

hy? Seems complicated.

After the last four years, it’s a pleasure to be working with a mayor, an admin-

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he last administration had a habit, for a time, of funneling most public-information requests through the city’s legal department.

What’s the process like these days?

The open-records policy has already been revised. Open-records requests are now submitted to the clerk on a revised form. The policy has been streamlined, and Chris Mims, who’s over communications, coordinates the information. The legal department only gets involved now if there seems to be an issue that could be exempt from info requests under state statutes.

S

ounds like less work for your team than the last one.

It’s definitely less work compared to the last few years—at least on open-records requests. And it’s all because we’re treating open-records requests as the government should treat them: They shouldn’t be a legal matter first. They should be a matter of public record first, with legal coming in only when needed.

A

re there any cases coming out this year that you’re particularly nervous about?

Knock on wood, there’s nothing that I’m nervous about right now, not legally, anyhow.

The big challenge for the city this year is the decreased tax revenue, just like it is with the state. Fiscal prudence is the call for the day, throughout the rest of the year.

ayor Johnson pointed out last week that the city is seeing a 15 percent drop in sales revenue.

How is this kind of shortfall hitting the legal department?

We’re not short-staffed, but there are some vacant positions in our office that we’re not inclined to fill because of budget cuts. I can’t say we’re getting swamped because of the lack of manpower. If anything, it makes us overly cautious on how (often) we (relent and) pay claims and how we evaluate paying for outside resources. We don’t find ourselves contracting outside counsel much now. We have no choice but to hire experts on some cases, but we handle as many matters as we can in-house.

Y

ou used to run the city’s legal defense team. If you’re over the department then who’s managing the protection of the city?

I’m still involved in that, but I’m fortunate to still have some young attorneys that I’ve hired over the last few years who chose to remain with the city, and I’m confident in my attorneys. I’ve probably been more involved than I would have liked to have been in the defense department, but I envision doing a lot more delegation in 2010. That initial involvement was to make sure I’m fully aware of all the issues that go on in the various departments of the city.

T

he last city attorney ’s employment agreement stirred up a lot of news for us, with her claiming additional payment for bond work, along with her salary. Does your own employment agreement contain any elusive clauses regarding bond services?

I’m proud to say that I’m just a salaried City of Jackson employee. No clauses, bonuses or fees for bond work. In fact we’ve done most of the Timber Falls bond work (a new subdivision in South Jackson) in-house, and nobody got any bonuses for any of it. Glad you asked, actually.

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WARD SCHAEFER

Mental Health Ripe for Cuts?

Jefferson County Sheriff Peter Walker says that Gov. Barbour’s plan to close mental-health crisis centers would force the mentally ill into county jails.

R

eform and belt-tightening will collide when state lawmakers consider mental-health services in the 2010 legislative session. Gov. Haley Barbour has signaled his desire to close some state mentalhealth facilities, arguing that the state could save money and better serve the mentally ill by providing them with community- and home-based care. The governor’s proposal has drawn criticism, however, for dangerously oversimplifying a major shift in the way the state treats mental health.

Receiving special attention are the state’s seven mental-health crisis centers, six of which Barbour targeted for closure in his budget proposal. Barbour acknowledged the value of a decentralized, community-based approach to mental health in his Nov. 16 budget proposal, and he suggested that closing the six crisis centers was a step in that direction.

“Over the years, the State has relied heavily on institutional care for mentally ill individuals. Going forward, the state needs to commit fewer fiscal resources to institutional care and more fiscal resources to home- and community-based care,” Barbour said in his Nov. 16 budget proposal. “Closing the facilities will put a greater reliance on home- and community-based services like those offered at the community mental health centers.”

Closing six crisis centers would force counties to house mentally ill citizens in county jails, Holmes County Sheriff Willie March warned.

March is president of the Mississippi Sheriffs Association, which voiced its opposition to Barbour’s proposal at a Dec. 31 press conference at the Capitol, when it called for cooperation between law enforcement and mental-health service providers to avoid criminalizing the mentally ill.

Created in 1999, the state’s seven countybased crisis-intervention centers represent a shift toward community-based mental health services and away from large institutions. The 17-bed centers offer treatment to mentally ill individuals going through a psychiatric crisis, with the intention of stabilizing them so that they do not need to be admitted to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield.

County sheriff’s departments typically use the crisis centers when family members of a mentally ill person request police intervention. Without a crisis center available, county sheriff’s departments will have no choice but to incarcerate the mentally ill, Jefferson County Sheriff Peter Walker said.

“Families don’t want their (mentally ill) family members incarcerated,” Walker said. “They need help; they need relief; but they don’t want their family members incarcerated.”

Jefferson County has used the Brookhaven crisis center for less than a year, not long enough to gauge its effectiveness, Walker said.

Walker also acknowledged that many crisis centers have not been used as they were originally intended: to quickly stabilize patients without requiring commitment.

In a recent Associated Press interview, published Jan. 2, Barbour used the same argument to justify closing the centers, claiming that “most of the people treated there aren’t in crisis.” Barbour also explained that he spared the Grenada crisis center in his proposal because it has a track record of stabilizing a high percentage of its patients in crisis in a short amount of time.

Roy Mitchell, executive director of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, urged caution before abandoning the crisis centers in favor of a still-abstract community-based approach. Introducing crisis centers would still be a step forward in other states, he said.

“There’s a lot of talk about this community-based approach, but it’s not in place (yet),” Mitchell said.

“It’s not like a light switch.”

Mental-health services are an easy target for belt-tightening, because results are difficult to quantify and neither providers nor consumers in the state have much political clout, Mitchell noted.

Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, hopes to develop a plan for moving the state toward community-based care. Bryan and his House counterpart, Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, are chairing a study group devoted to the issue. He acknowledged the need to move deliberately.

“You can’t close a facility without providing services to the people who are there,” Bryan said.

The state has a difficult task to ensure that local options exist for mental patients currently in state institutions, though. In a system analogous to the state’s community college system, community-based mental health services in the state fall under the authority of fifteen different regional mental-health centers, each with their own governing commission. The quality and breadth of services varies between districts, Bryan said.

“People prefer to live at home,” Bryan said. “That’s the direction that everyone wants to move in. It’s the mechanics of how we get from point A to point B that we’re working on.”

Will new Mississippi legislation strengthen or weaken individual liberties in 2010?

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi believes only we, the people, will answer that question.

Please join or donate to the ACLU of Mississippi and ensure that the voice of Liberty speaks boldly in the Mississippi legislature this year.

For 40 years, the ACLU of MS has had as it’s sole purpose the preservation and strengthening of the freedoms guaranteed under the Bill of Rights such as freedom of speech and religion, the right to privacy, freedom of the press and equal protection under the law. Make 2010 the year you join or donate to the ACLU of Mississippi.

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statetalk

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pearl river talk

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owntown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen came out last week as an avid opponent of a levee expansion for Jackson, declaring that local taxpayers will not pay for it.

“This local share would have to be raised with taxes in Hinds and Rankin counties. A voter referendum would be needed for an increase in property taxes (to fund the levees), a legislatively approved sales-tax increase vote, or some other citizen-approved tax increase, and 60 percent of the voters in both counties would be necessary for approval,” Allen wrote on the Downtown Jackson Partners Web site last week. “From Puckett to Pisgah, Edwards to Flora, Jackson to Pearl and on,” (the tax increase would need) 60 percent approval. … This will never happen.”

Allen is a long-time fan of a Two Lakes plan proposed years ago by Jackson oil man John McGowan, arguing that the lakes plan (which has changed multiple times) is more friendly to development than the levee plan. Local voters, he said, will need incentives to finance any floodcontrol plan—and levees don’t have the development components needed to convince residents to pay for flood control.

January 7 - 13, 2010

A Billion-Dollar Lakes Plan?

In 1979, heavy rainfall north of the city created a swell of rainwater that filled the Pearl River, sending a glut of water to Hinds and Rankin counties. The resulting flooding sauntered around the inadequate levee system and caught the city completely off guard, inundating sections of the downtown area and northern portions of the city, as well as spots in Flowood—doing more than $200 million worth of damage.

The federal government, through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is offering a maximum match of $133 million for the expansion of the incomplete levee system currently girding portions of Hinds and Rankin counties. The only levee plan available so far dates back to 1996 when the emphasis shifted to Two Lakes.

“This (levee plan) could mean a 10to 15-mill increase for all property owners (estimated 12 to 18 percent),” wrote Allen, whose property borders the river’s flood zone and stands to increase in value from a lake development like that proposed by McGowan.

The lake plan is as cost-prohibitive as the levee plan, however, although Two Lakes supporters will not say that out loud.

McGowan projects a $400 million price tag for his plan; assuming the federal government coughs up its $133 million earmark for the lake plan—despite the Corps’ refusal to endorse any lake plan due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

The resulting deficit, after an additional $50 million gift from the state in 10 the form of in-lieu payments and fiscal

incentives, appears to be $235 million that taxpayers would need to cover—if the plan could somehow get around federal law.

Just like for a Corps-approved levee plan, property owners would have to finance the cost of Two Lakes through a general obligation bond and property tax hikes. However, a theoretical 5 percent TIF bond on the $235 million shortfall of the McGowan plan adds up to more than $100 million in interest over the 15-year life of the loan, equaling to a 5.8 mill increase to home-owners.

These numbers only reflect the property-tax increases necessary to handle estimated interest on a TIF loan for the lake project. Property owners might expect to pay about $22 million annually to pay down the principal, a nearly 13 mill increase (roughly $1,300 on a $100,000 home), in addition to expensive litigation costs that would result from environmental lawsuits.

The Corps warns that the McGowan plan costs would easily pass $1 billion because McGowan’s plan does not include key environmental mitigation required by federal law, such as erosion walls to keep any islands within the lake from washing away.

A Dated Levee Plan Allen argues on the DJP blog that the levee plan is an outdated relic of the 1990s. Two Lakes supporters, however, did not want other plans studied—they only wanted a comparison between the levee plan the Corps developed in the early 1990s and their preferred plan.

In fact, former U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering—a Republican Two Lakes supporters relied on to get Washington support for their plan—specifically instructed the Corps to study only the Two Lakes plan and the 1996 levee plan.

“There has been no new flood control thinking tolerated for over a decade,” environmental engineer Pleasant McNeel, head of the Pearl River Basin Coalition, said Tuesday, adding that the results of the 2007 charrette featuring a Two Lakes-skeptical Andre Duany has not been released to the public.

This comparison against an outdated 1996 levee plan, currently the rage among Two Lakes backers, likely made McGowan’s plan look better, even with its drawbacks and high costs.

“It is likely true that the Corps levee plan has its share of flaws. The levee plan was conceived in the early 1990s, and with all the emphasis placed on studying the Two Lakes plan, has remained static since 1996,” McNeel said.

Allen echoes McGowan’s warning that the old plan does not include additional local charges with which the city of Jackson will have to contend. The Corps, he says,

FILE PHOTO

The Levee Question

Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen says property owners will not support a levee plan for flood control because of its constraints.

estimates the total cost of the levees to be about $206 million, but does not include the price of installing $90 million worth of backwater pumps to empty two Jackson creeks over the levee floodgates in the event of a heavy local rainstorm.

The Corps will install the floodgates to prevent the rising river from sending downtown creeks over their banks, but pumps may prove necessary in the event of local rains corresponding with a heavy wash of floodwater from up north similar to the 1970 spring flood. Without the pumps, local rainwater filling the creeks during a 1979-style flood would beat hopelessly against the closed floodgates and have nowhere to go except over creek banks.

The Corps told members of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board last year that it found the likelihood of corresponding local rains in the event of a 1979 flood extremely unlikely. The city, for example, saw very little rain during the worst of the 1979 flood, the Corps said. Nevertheless, it rated the original levee plan’s effectiveness at 79 percent due to the possibility.

Allen, who did not return calls for this story, said the city will have to eventually finance the pumps, however, and would have to cover a total share of about $162 million for the project. He says that the old levee plan would spell trouble for some Jackson businesses.

“A 100-yard swath on each side of all of the levees will be scorched earth, forever, to assist water flow in the flooded area. Adding this to the width of the levees will equate into a 300-yard-wide scorched earth area throughout the entire levee system,” Allen wrote on the DJP blog, adding, “[T]here will be no development within the confines of the proposed Pearl

River levees, unless one wishes to invest with cash. No bank will loan money in an area prone to flooding.”

Allen also pointed out that none of the target area includes Rankin County.

Jackson insurance agent Hank Aiken said his business sits inside Allen’s “scorched earth” section, along with Penn’s Fish House and other businesses.

“I would be on the wrong side of the levees, so the city would be forced to buy me out, or eminent domain me out and bulldoze my office building, and probably pay me a fraction of what it’s worth,” Aiken said.

Aiken said his building, which has been in existence since 1978 and took three feet of water in the 1979 flood, would be in a much better position under the McGowan plan: “If McGowan’s plan was in place, I would have lakefront property here, but if we get levees, I’d have to move. You can see why I’m a fan of the lake plan.”

Under McGowan’s plan, recalcitrant property owners would have to give up their property under eminent domain as well.

McNeel said that the city needs to get away from thinking that the only options are McGowan’s Two Lakes plan or the 1996 version of the levee plan.

“What needs to be done now is what should have been done in 1996: engage the Corps and the public to ensure a comprehensive design that meets the needs of the Metro Area. I am sure there are incremental improvements that can be made to the plan along the way, and there is a unique opportunity to take advantage of the recreation resources available along the Pearl.”

Not Just About Jackson Local mayors comprise the majority of the levee board, and all fear backing a plan carrying a mill increase of more than 3 percent, making both the lake and levee plans tough choices. The board voted last month to endorse the levee plan over the lake plan, with two votes against the endorsements from Jackson businessmen Socrates Garrett and Leland Speed. Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. voted with majority members of the board.

The Corps already rejected a lakes plan, due to environmental factors surrounding the inundation of wetland territory that houses endangered species of fish and turtles. The Corps also rejected a modest one-lake plan that advocates say had less of an impact on the local wildlife.

But residents outside Jackson are prepped to battle any lake plan, including Monticello Mayor Dave Nichols.

“I’m not trying to make enemies. I’m only looking out for my city,” Nichols said.

“The study says this: The way the reservoir is currently operated, with Two Lakes, Monticello and Marion County could

by Adam Lynch

Sandy Rosenthal, head of Levees.org, says levees more than earn their cost, considering the value of property they normally protect. She blames the Corps for not moving sooner to strengthen the levees in New Orleans.

of flow to protect the territory south of the dam from flooding.

Benny French, general manager of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, said the district had to work within tight rules, adding that the original design of the Spillway did not include flood control.

Rep. Bill Denny, R-Jackson, said he doubted the Legislature would get behind state financing of a levee plan, recalling a failed attempt to expand the Jackson levees in the 1990s. He said the levees plan is likely doomed because city residents may not agree to accept the property tax hike.

If local residents don’t accept the plan, their priority may be running against the national attitude toward levees that has strengthened since Hurricane Katrina inundated New Orleans’ weak levees in 2005.

A study for the non-partisan, grassroots organization Levees.org by geographer Ezra Boyd concludes that levees more than pay for themselves when their cost is compared to the investment they defend. The report concludes that even though counties containing levees account for only 28 percent

of the nation’s counties, they contain 55 percent of the nation’s population and more than 156 million people.

“People tend to build their homes near water,” said Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal of New Orleans. “Rivers and lakes can supply a large municipal water supply, so people gravitate to these areas.

Income is higher and poverty is lower where levees exist, so levees more than make up for their cost, considering the amount of money often invested in the communities they protect.”

Denny said as much last year, complaining that his 1995 push for a bill completing the levees in the highly populated Jackson area was overrun by legislators living in sparsely populated areas.

“I said time and time again to opponents trying to kill my effort that ‘you and your cow pastures are ignoring one of the most densely populated parts of the state,’ and it just didn’t seem to matter to them,” Denny said.

Rosenthal argues that people tend to appreciate their levees because a huge portion of the population stands to gain from it. Even the people of New Orleans knew the value of levees prior to Katrina, despite Corps spokespeople there claiming immediately after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastation that they did not strengthen levees because of a lack of local match funding and public support.

“The idea that the levees in New Orleans failed because local residents didn’t support the Corps’ effort to upgrade the levees is just a story that Corps spokespersons told after the levees failed. No one checked the Corps’ account to find out if there was any truth to it. There’s nothing to back up that story,” Rosenthal said.

“The Corps never retracted their stories, even though they have been refuted by water resources planning and policy experts Douglas Woolley and Leonard Shabman.”

Two years ago District Judge Stanwood Duval ruled out any accountability from the local population after finding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government responsible for the flooding destruction in New Orleans during Katrina—because the Corps there did not move to strengthen the levees. But Duval had to dismiss the case due to the financial liability protection afforded the Corps by the Flood Control Act of 1928.

Duval ruled against the Corps again last year, deciding that “... the Corps’ lassitude and failure to fulfill its duties resulted in a catastrophic loss of human life and property in unprecedented proportions... .”

As New Orleans continues to struggle with Katrina’s remnants and resulting accountability issues, Jackson is gearing up for its own Katrina, Aiken says: “Something still needs to be done, but all we’re getting is a lot of talk—years and years of talk.”

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COURTESY SANDY ROSENTHAL

receive up to two more inches of water in an Easter flood like the 1979 event. That’s two more inches that we don’t need. The reservoir operators aren’t changing the way they operate, so I have to stand against this.

If the reservoir folks turn around and say they’ll operate the way McGowan wants them to, then I’ll be all for it.”

McGowan’s plan relies on the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District altering its operating model for the Spillway dam from a structure intended to provide drinking water to a structure for providing flood control. The district holds a contract to deliver the necessary water over the dam for processing at the Curtis water treatment plant, and the Savannah Street waste water-treatment plant in Jackson. The contract does not include altering the volume

11

jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

Tell Whole Story on Levees and Lakes

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ow that the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District has officially agreed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ levees-only plan for flood control, expect the Two Lakes war machine to kick in full throttle to disparage levees.

Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen is out front, pointing out that the levee plan leaves much to be desired, and he’s right. Levees will indeed put an expensive section of Jackson property between the levees and into an aggravated flood zone, reducing it to a virtual no-man’s land for development.

The levees will cost $206 million, forcing local property owners to pony up $73 million in matching funds. Allen and developer Leland Speed also argue that the levee plan does not include the cost of installing pumps along two city creeks, which could cause problems in the rare event that a serious rise in river water corresponds with local downpours, forcing the creeks to back up over their beds. (The Corps deems this unhappy possibility very unlikely, however.)

The levee plan is the same one proposed in the 1990s, and it is in need of updating to make it more palatable to local property owners if they are to approve its financing in a referendum vote. But that won’t happen if advocates for an opposing lake plan manage to derail levee construction altogether.

The Two Lakes plan, which involves dredging and damming the Pearl River, comes with its own costs. Advocates claim they can build it for about $400 million, but the Corps is blunt that the construction will never survive the planning stage if it doesn’t include almost $1 billion worth of additions necessary to get it past the federal environmental review process. The Corps says the Lakes plan requires landfill removal, soil stabilizing and a host of additions—meaning any plan without this mitigation will hit an immediate litigation wall, not to mention lose the $133 million federal contribution. Allen has a point that levees are expensive, but their toll on local taxes will be nothing compared to the Lakes plan after environmentalists and the feds finish with it.

There’s also the matter of the money. The federal government’s contribution must funnel through the Corps, and the Corps has no intention of contributing to a lake project for very serious reasons. That fact cannot be ignored.

The best action now is to move forward with the levee plan and make improvements to it as the Corps and local authorities piece it together—that is, do what should have happened years ago. It’s not too late to tweak the plan and learn from other successful levee efforts, and once the money’s gone, it could be gone for good, and the city will be facing the prospect of another 1979 flood after millions of dollars of investment in rejected lake plans that disregarded federal regulations.

Some Two Lakes supporters say the money’s still there, even if the Corps opts out, but are you willing to risk it? A majority of the levee board wasn’t.

KEN STIGGERS

A Mass Choir In Denial

January 7 - 13, 2010

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oneqweesha Jones: “It’s time for the ‘Qweesha Live Television Magazine Movie Preview for 2010’! My movie pick for the new decade of the new millennium is ‘The Bottom Line is Money,’ a documentary film by Kunta ‘Rahsheed X’ Toby, the Gordon Parks of the Ghetto.

“Kunta, everyone knows the bottom line is money. So, with this documentary, are you preaching to the mass choir?”

Kunta: “Of course, Qweesha! I’m preaching to a mass choir in denial.

My purpose with this film is to motivate critical thinking and necessary action. On the surface, we know the bottom line is money, but we are very reluctant to question or challenge the ones who impose financial misery and mental stress on us.”

Boneqweesha Jones: “I understand, Kunta. The victims of oppression must realize that the perpetrator is abusing them. I want the viewing audience to take a ‘sneekie peekie’ of your new film. Roll the videotape, Rufus!”

Kumta (narrating over film footage): “It all began when a presidential candidate uttered three words: ‘Distribute the Wealth!’ I thought he meant help the poor. But for those who earned $250,000 or more, his words meant war. Not a war on poverty, but a war against the poor. Their weapons of financial mass destruction against the poor were massive late-fee charges, a mentality of zero tolerance and unsympathetic customer service personnel. It’s the greedy versus the needy in an unnecessary battle for survival where ‘The Bottom Lie Is Money’—a Kunta ‘Rahsheed X’ Toby film.”

CHATTER

From “Tiger Woods and Selective Naivete,”

by C. Liegh McInnis, at jacksonfreepressc.com

The Tiger Beat “C. Liegh is not commenting on separatism or integration, and he’s definitely not a ‘supremacist’ as Donna pointed out. He is commenting on the absurdity of Tiger Woods’ fall from white American grace that had nothing to do with a lack of accomplishment, but everything to do with a fall from being the ‘Magical Negro.’”

–Blackwatch

“There seems to be so much anger here and in C. Liegh’s other writings that it gives pause to the thought that perhaps the only way to satisfy him would be a rigid separate-but-equal society—at least we wouldn’t have to go around worrying that somebody might want to ‘validate’ us. Either that or get rid of white people altogether.”

–chaffeur

“I’m not surprised at all that Tiger is losing all these sponsors because I knew it was likely to occur for some of the reasons you stated. The sponsors are capitalists who respond to dollar bills, no matter the reason the dollar bills came and/or went.”

–Walt

“In high school, I was the ‘Token/Special Negro.’ In college, I became the ‘black experience’ for whites to see a real, live black person, just like the black people they saw on the TV show ‘Good Times.’ That’s why I agree with C. Liegh regarding selective naivete.”

–Stiggers

“I don’t see this as a black-white issue, and I am embarrassed that it has even come to this. If anything it’s a male-female issue, and there is no way a man can justify to me Tiger being chastised over this by making it out to be racial or by saying the dude has a sex problem. His problem is that he was weak … .”

–Queen601

“If we limit it to Tiger’s philandering, then I think it’s wrong no matter how you mix-match the races. C. Liegh needs to come out and visit the real world, not the ideal he lives in.”

–Ironghost “You have got to be kidding me! We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. People like you keep us away from progress.”

–littledivot

CORRECTIONS

Corrections: In the Most Intriguing Jacksonians feature in the last issue, editor Donna Ladd wrote that Two Lakes designer John McGowan dumped chemicals in the Galveston Bay. It should have read that he dumped wastewater from his oil wells in the bay, as detailed by Adam Lynch last Sept. 30. In the same issue, we mistakenly said the Indianapolis Colts’ loss guaranteed the New Orleans Saints home-field advantage when it should have said the Minnesota Vikings. We apologize for the errors.

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

NATALIE A. COLLIER

Resolute Resolutions

EDITORIAL Assistant Editor Lacey McLaughlin Associate Editor Ronni Mott Senior Reporter Adam Lynch Reporter Ward Schaefer Events Editor Latasha Willis Music Listings Editor Herman Snell Assistant to the Editor ShaWanda Jacome Writers Andi Agnew, Lisa Fontaine Bynum, Rob Hamilton, Carl Gibson, Deirdra Harris Glover, Anita Modak-Truran,Will Morgan, Larry Morrisey, Doctor S, Ken Stiggers, Valerie Wells, Neola Young Editorial Interns Darrell Creecy, Briana Robinson, Kalissia Veal Visiting Interns Katie Eubanks, Gerard Manogin Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Editorial Designer Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Lydia Chadwick Production Designer Christi Vivar Editorial Cartoonist Chris Zuga Illustrator Melissa Webster Photographers Tom Beck, Pat Butler, Josh Hailey, Kenya Hudson, Kate Medley, Meredith Norwood, Lizzie Wright Design Intern Katy Wharton Founding Art Director Jimmy Mumford

ONLINE Web Designer Vincent Falconi Web Producer Korey Harrison

SALES AND OPERATIONS Sales Coordinator Kimberly Griffin Account Executive Randi Ashley Jackson Account Executive and Distribution Manager Adam Perry Accounting Montroe Headd Distribution Mike Gaddis, Matt Heindl, Brook Jones, George Lovell Jr., Steve Pate, James Redd, Maxx Renfroe Founding Ad Director Stephen Barnette

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new decade has started, and I’m still trying to figure what that means for me. You’re supposed to be excited about the start of a new year, but I can’t say I am. Not yet, at least. Some of this lack of enthusiasm is rooted, I’m sure, in my I’m-so-worn-out-ness from this past year. I lost a lot. But I learned some lessons, too. I guess that’s how it works.

I’ve never been one for making grandiose New Year’s resolutions. I’ve long believed if you’re going to make a change in your life, make a change. You don’t have to wait until Jan. 1 (or the first Monday that follows it). When I decided I’d start drinking at least eight glasses of water a day, it was the beginning of May. And unlike that one time I decided at the beginning of the year I was going to lose 20 and didn’t, I’ve stuck with my mid-year waterdrinking resolution.

Don’t get me wrong: I do appreciate the new beginnings a new year can bring; I just can’t seem to get into the same thing that everyone else is into. It’s the rebellious spirit I’ve been told I have that rises up in me. If the masses dig it (examples: Rihanna’s “music,” red roses and “The Tyra Show”), I don’t. That’s just the way I am. Call me a snob. (I’ve been called worse.) When you consider the fact that most people don’t hold fast to their resolutions until Mississippi’s spring heat turns into Mississippi’s real heat, I figure there’s no point in going along with the crowd.

But this year is different. I started wondering: “What if everyone who makes resolutions they don’t keep every year are better off in the long run than I am?” I’ll need a year to be able to make the determination for sure, so I’m being anti-self and coming up with a few resolutions to start my year off like everyone else: 1. I promise myself that I will read and write more. This may mean that I get my cable turned off, but I won’t make that a resolution because I may not turn off my cable and then what will that make me? A liar. Exactly.

2. When I’m asked out on a date this year, I vow to pause before saying “yes.” A little bit of awkward silence builds character. If the guy who asks me, however, has gold teeth, doesn’t match his verbs and subjects, or follows up any declaration he

makes with “Ya feel me?” I vow to use the pause I take to find the best way to remix the classic line: “I’m sorry. It’s not you; it’s me.”

3. I am determined not to become a “beauty pageant mom.” Those women scare me. But, of course, the other thing that will ensure I’m not one of these scary parental units is the fact that I don’t have a daughter. Or a son. Or a dog. They have doggie pageants, too, you know?

4. I resolve to not start smoking. I hate smoke. I hate the smell of smoke. It makes me choke and gives me a headache.

So this year, I vow that I won’t do it. The only thing worse than saying, “She makes me sick,” would be having to say that when I am the ‘she’ to whom I’m referring.

5. I will eat this year. Eating healthier would help me be healthier, and I’d inevitably lose weight.

This always helps in pursuits of vanity, and I have tentative plans to be more vain this year, but whether I eat junk or decide to try a raw food diet over the next 12 months, one thing’s for sure: I will eat.

6. If I’m not treating myself to a mani/pedi courtesy of Marley at Fondren Nails, when I add a little razzle dazzle to my day by polishing my own nails, I will use both a base and topcoat. This may not seem like a big deal, but as I type this, I’m looking at the sumptuous gray nail lacquer that’s chipping already because I’m lazy. Also, chipped fingernail polish may have a direct correlation to the number of yeses (see resolution No. 2) I can dole out. It may be a stretch, but I’m a stretcher.

7. And finally, even on my darkest days this year, at the end of each, I will identify one thing that brought me joy, no matter how small. A joy journal, I’ll call it. Even if this resolution-making thing doesn’t make for a better year this year, I’ll at least have something that’s bound to center me for the beginning of 2011.

Those are my resolutions, if you can call them that. What are yours, if you made any?

By the way, feel free to keep a joy journal with me. I’d appreciate the company.

Natalie Collier is a Millsaps College grad and freelance writer living in Jackson.

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2010 LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW:

January 7 - 13, 2010

vocational education programs, as well as programs for special education and the gifted—equal to a $176 million loss in federal funds.

Crisis-Generated Cooperation Lobbyist Stan Flynt said the overall push of the legislative session this year will unquestioningly center on making ends meet.

“The shortage of money will be the driving force this time around, and I think we’ll all be amazed at how well legislators will come together to try to battle this issue,” said Flynt, who predicted that any rogue attitudes not specifically attuned to the greater crusade of removing red ink will suffer for it the following year.

“I attribute it to self-preservation more than anything—crisis-generated cooperation. If that turns out not to be the case, then my political instinct tells me that it will be to the detriment to all involved. The year 2011 is an election year,” Flynt said.

“Don’t think these politicians don’t know it. Anybody who doesn’t get with the greater program will have competitors beating them for that attitude in the primaries.

Voters will do their part, too, because if these guys don’t get along—and get along fast on the budget problems—voters will adopt a blanket ‘throw the bums out’ attitude toward them in 2011.”

Flynt used the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s recent plan as an example of how willing legislators are to work together to battle the common foe of budget shortfalls. The joint committee—comprised of a progressive cadre of Democratic House members and a considerably conservative branch of the Republican-dominated Senate—shook hands on a budget plan within the course of 72 hours. The usual process takes days, sometimes weeks of back-and-forth reconnaissance, as well as the occasional complaint to the media about the other team’s unwillingness to play ball.

Savings will be a big call to arms this year, and Public Health Committee Chairman Rep. Steve Holland, DPlantersville, said he will see if Barbour is taking serious his own call to steer Medicaid money to home- and community-based nursing, rather than the more expensive institutional nursing care that the state’s high number of nursing homes offer.

Holland said a simple slashing of Medicaid is the wrong way to fix a shortfall, especially considering that Medicaid is a program where the federal government matches every dollar the state invests three times over.

“Cutting the Medicaid budget is a three-to-one loss to the state,” Holland said. “I never understood the argument to reduce it.”

Barbour advised the state to divert Medicaid money to more affordable home-based nursing services instead of nursing homes as a means to cut state costs. Barbour’s

demand arrived two years after Holland and lobbyists for the handicapped and disabled passed “money follows the person” laws allowing the state to use Medicaid money for private nursing. Holland said the Division of Medicaid has been slow to actually use the law, influenced perhaps by the powerful nursing-home lobby, which is partly comprised of the even more commanding health-care lobby.

For the two years money-follows-the-person laws have been in the books, the nursing-home lobby has argued that the state does not have the infrastructure to monitor a growing mass of private nursing businesses, and that the largely rural state still does not offer home-care nursing services in many of its sparsely populated communities. About 80 percent of the population has access to some form of home-care based health-service, but there currently are not enough nursing services to handle the kind of institution to home-care changeover the governor envisions.

Flynt says legislators will probably be trying to assemble that infrastructure soon in an effort to cut the costs that the governor now demands.

“There are two ways to save the state money when it comes to essential programs, and Medicaid is going to be one of the center issues in this session,” Flynt predicted.

“We can save anywhere between $60,000 to $150,000 per Medicaid recipient per year through home-care nursing, and provide them services that are closer to home and relatives and their network, with the possibility that they can even go out and work and generate income and taxes.”

KENYA HUDSON

Mississippi legislators skulked back into the state capitol Jan. 5, keeping their body movements at a minimum and their heads low in case somebody noticed them and asked them questions containing the words “budget shortfall.”

In November, Gov. Haley Barbour announced that Mississippi is on its way to the kind of revenue deficit unseen since the Great Depression. Revenue estimates ended low for more than 16 months in a row, falling more than $136 million since July, with officials predicting a $360 million shortage by the end of fiscal year 2010.

Barbour responded to the news with a new round of budget cuts this winter, which, added to earlier cuts he instituted in September, amounts to more than $220 million in budget reductions. This is nothing new as the national economy continues to slump. The governor cut $200 million from the budget in fiscal year 2010, and some state agencies are now operating at about 10 percent below their funding from last year. Many state workers are nervously submitting resumes to the private sector or out of state, in anticipation of salary freezes, slashed hours or even lost jobs.

The news got around quickly. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee followed through with its own plan to deal with revenue shortfalls last month. Committee members agreed to defund all vacant state job positions and permanently delete 3,656 of them. They also agreed to reduce travel and contractual service.

The committee’s fiscal year 2011 budget recommendations include a 10 percent blanket reduction for all state agencies and, most painfully, nearly a 6 percent reduction from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. MAEP is the formula through which the state steers money to low-revenue school districts that do not produce enough cash through sales taxes to adequately fund teachers’ salaries and learning materials.

Nancy Loome, executive director of K-12 advocate group The Parent’s Campaign, warned that cuts to the funding formula mean cuts that can’t easily be recouped in subsequent years.

“When you have cuts of that magnitude, it pretty well necessitates a reduction in staff, so you’re talking about increases in class size, and we know that class size has a direct impact on student achievement,” Loome said. “When students fall behind in one year, they are losing some of that foundation that they need for subsequent years.”

Though painful, the legislative budget plan for education is slightly more generous than Barbour’s own suggestion to reduce MAEP by 10.9 percent in fiscal year 2011—and his recommendation to cut K-12 education 12 percent across the board. Barbour’s cut would actually amount to a cut of about 15 percent according to House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson. Brown agrees with Loome’s argument that MAEP was rightfully due for an increase next year, which certainly won’t be happening under the current circumstances.

14 Barbour also recommended a cut of almost 70 percent to

Jackson Rep. John Horhn, a Democrat, has routinely supported efforts to promote sex education in Mississippi’s public schools. He likely will again.

Mississippi Legislature Faces a Dire Task

by Adam Lynch

BRYANT HAWKINS

Fee Hikes and Soda Taxes The Joint Legislative Budget Committee, headed by Lt. Gov Phil Bryant, stuck with the argument this month that raising fees on state services does not qualify specifically as taxes. Both committee members and Bryant boasted that they steadfastly refused to raise any taxes whatsoever, even while raising fees on vehicle titles and limited liability company filing fees with the secretary of state’s office.

“That was the first thing we agreed on,” Bryant told

The Clarion-Ledger. “The worst thing we could do right now is increase taxes.”

The committee anticipates generating $10.6 million through the fee increases, which will mean raising state charges to produce certificates of title for automobiles from $4 to $16, and a fee increase for annual filings for limited liability company filings. Car tags also could face a substantial increase next year. The committee made no effort to mandate money for the state’s car tag subsidy fund, state money that reduces the cost of car tags on the local level.

Rep. Kelvin Buck, D-Holly Springs, voiced concern last year after warning that legislators will consider axing the $27 million program.

“It’ll be like passing a tax on the local level while wiping your hands of it at the state level,” Buck said. “There’s a subsidy that the state has been doing. You’ll see it on your tag receipt when you pay for your tag. If it were not for that subsidy, your tag would be considerably more expensive each time you went to buy it. I don’t think people want to see their car tags jump up in price, certainly not now.”

Legislators established the subsidy program in the mid-1990s, and felt the program warranted enough importance to steer a portion of the recent tax increase on tobacco products (an increase from 18 cents per pack to 68 cents per pack) to the fund. The $27 million influx became necessary after the state Tax Commission decided to decrease the annual tag discount for car owners from 5.5 percent to 3 percent.

Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, plans to introduce one potential revenue measure, a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on soft drinks, in the hopes of combating obesity. While acknowledging the potential unpopularity of another tax, Mayo argued that the tax is simply compensating for the social cost of obesity and related complications like diabetes.

“Obesity costs Mississippi taxpayers over $900 million a year,” Mayo said. “Doesn’t the state have a responsibility to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money?”

Mayo’s House colleague Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, supports the idea of a soda tax, but he is less than sanguine about its chance of passage.

“I don’t think there’s going to be much of a climate— quite frankly—to do revenue this year,” Holland said. “I don’t think we’re going to pass any tax because we’ve still got a damn Legislature and a governor full of Republicanism, and they’re not going to pass sh*t. It’s just a bad time, let’s face it, to do any of that.”

While the legislative committee refused to acknowledge the governor’s call to merge the state’s main historically black colleges and universities, the committee did follow through with Barbour’s recommendation to privatize the wine-sale functions of the Tax Commission’s Alcohol Beverage Control Division. The committee believes the move will generate $2.5 million in new revenue for the state, as Barbour claims in his recommendation, although a source familiar with the ABC division suspects the changeover will be anything but cost-saving for wine sellers.

Gov. Haley Barbour is discouraging legislators from imposing any kind of tax or fee hikes, despite the unpopularity of severe budget cuts necessary to shore up the shortfall caused by declining revenues.

The Tax Commission’s Alcohol Beverage Control Division regulates wine sales by retaining the inventory of all the wine sold in the state. Any private contractor must therefore be willing to make deliveries once a day to wine sellers, whether they are liquor stores or restaurants. These deliveries might not make for a lot of volume—each can contain as little as five cases of wine—but they do feature an intimidating degree of variety. A company adopting ABC duties must also be willing to stock a daunting volume of largely unused inventory to meet the needs of wine sellers.

Critics say a private company may not be able to manage the task without adding fees on top of current fees charged by the state.

Legislators will look at any number of revenue generators this year. House Gaming Committee Chairman Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, said some lawmakers are considering revisiting the possibility of instituting a state lottery to help fund higher education.

“I’ve had different members of the House ask about the possibility of beginning a state lottery. I even think the prospect would pass in the House,” Moak said. “But the governor has made his reluctance to support a state lottery known. So to avoid a veto, we would have to wait for the Senate to get behind the effort if it stands a chance.”

Opponents of a lottery, like the governor, argue that people with less income are more likely to play the lottery; essentially making them victims to a venture that is, by design, unlikely to award them any benefit.

“When you read that the governor is going to veto any (lottery) legislation that you pass, you’ve got to take a look and ask yourself if this is worth the effort. Nevertheless, LEGISLATURE, see page 17

jacksonfreepress.com

Barbour also called for the expansion of the Mississippi Coordinated Access Network, known as Mississippi CAN. The governor said the coordinated-care program, which serves state Medicaid beneficiaries, should “improve access to needed medical services by connecting beneficiaries to providers for preventative and primary care,” and will provide “support services for managing illnesses and empower beneficiaries.”

Mary Troupe, executive director for the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, lauds the proposed expansion, arguing that beneficiaries need an organizer to help them fully utilize Medicaid services.

Many kidney dialysis patients who are Medicaid beneficiaries, for example, do not know that the state offers free transportation to the location of dialysis treatment. Many of these patients, Troupe said, end up calling the offices of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities to learn this kind of information—information that should already be widely available through a coordinated program manager.

Both legislators and health advocates acknowledge that expanding Mississippi CAN and extending private nursing service to previously un-serviced areas will not be a one-year project. Legislators could spend this session hashing out a plan to take services where they do not currently exist, while next year could potentially be when the infrastructure for such a plan begins to come together. Full utilization could take years, especially since the state has been working for decades under an entirely different kind of health infrastructure that demands the existence of brickand-mortar nursing homes and institutions, complete with expenses such as air-conditioning, security service, lawn care and countless other forms of maintenance fees.

Flynt and Holland said changing a fossilized healthcare system like this is no easy process, although the current financial calamity is precisely the kind of environment that could begin the process.

“Chaos is the friend of change,” Flynt said. “When the status quo is rocking along, it’s virtually impossible to accomplish significant change. It’s only during chaos and crisis—when a significant number of people are hurting, everybody is questioning their fundamental operating principals and having to be forced to reevaluate everything—that change comes.”

15

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2010 Legislative Preview:

Mississippi Legislature Faces a Dire Task

from page 15

COURTESY DAVID BARIA

One of Barbour’s most controversial agenda items for the 2010 session appears dead-on-arrival: His proposed consolidation of the state’s eight public universities has yet

Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, will submit bills for statewide insurance reform for home-owners this legislative session. Again.

Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said he doubted the governor’s call for school-district consolidation would go anywhere, considering the racial make-up of many districts and the state’s history of segregation.

to attract vocal support in the Legislature. Barbour called for merging two of the state’s historically black universities, Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State, into its third historically black institution, Jackson State University. He also proposed that the Mississippi University for Women merge with Mississippi State University. Kelvin Buck, who chairs the House Universities and Colleges Committee, has vowed to kill any bill that would consolidate state universities.

“I won’t support any bill that comes out that would be designed to consolidate any universities,” Buck told the Jackson Free Press in November. “It’s not my plan to even entertain it, to be honest with you.”

Barbour has proposed consolidation not only at the university level, but also in K-12 education. In December, he announced the formation of a special advisory commission to review the structure of the state’s public school districts and recommend how they can be consolidated.

“The state’s educational structure is a model of inefficiency with 152 school districts in only 82 counties,” Barbour stated in a Dec. 21 press release. “By consolidating districts, we can make sure state and local tax dollars are spent on educating our students and increase the quality of educational opportunities for Mississippi’s children.”

The commission will recommend how to best achieve consolidation and will calculate any resulting savings from the mergers. Barbour recommended reducing the state’s total number of school districts down to 100, although Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, doubted the U.S. Department of Justice would clear many consolidations, considering the state’s racist history.

Brown doubted the state could select 50 districts to merge that wouldn’t include some majority-white districts fusing with some majority-black districts, which will inevitably call into play voting rights issues.

“Let’s just say you want to merge Canton into Madison County. You’ve got a substantially majority-black district moving into a much, much larger majority-white district, and all of a sudden you’ve diluted the black voting strength. Is that going to pass muster? In a large number of those (consolidated districts), that’s going to be an issue,” Brown said.

School districts use different methods to install school

board members, with some appointed by elected officials and others directly elected by the local population. The state could step into voting rights issues if mergers result in white elected officials in a different district usurping black elected officials.

Brown is one of the members of Barbour’s committee, although he doubts the committee’s report, which is due April 1, will have any kind of impact on this year’s legislative session, which ends in March.

Mayo intends to introduce legislation putting charter schools under the guidance of the Mississippi Department of Education. Mayo remains suspicious of charter schools because of their support from groups that have not been traditional allies of public schools.

“So far, at least in my part of Mississippi, the people pushing for charter schools are former private-school administrators or parents,” Mayo said. “I don’t want a charter school that’s been chartered by that group. That should be in the hands of the Department of Education.”

Mayo also wants state law to restrict charter schools to districts that have been designated as failing or in danger of failing for two years in a row, keeping charters out of places like Madison or Desoto counties with already vigorous school systems. In struggling districts, Mayo argues, local control of schools is not working, and an outside organization—vetted and authorized by the state Department of Education—could prove more effective.

State Superintendent of Education Tom Burnham has floated a similar proposal that would give the state Department of Education authority to consolidate districts when they fall under its control for poor performance. He has also suggested that MDE be allowed to open charter schools in those state-controlled districts.

Legislators have an added incentive to pass some form of a charter-school law this year, as it could help Mississippi’s chances of acquiring up to $175 million in federal education funds. MDE is planning to apply in June for the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top program, which rewards states for enacting public educaLEGISLATURE, see page 19

jacksonfreepress.com

Education Wars

FILE PHOTO

this is the kind of economy where people are asking about it and questioning about it.”

Some legislators may also consider looking at state subsidies. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, discovered about three years ago, after a PEER study, that the state hands off about $1 billion in annual subsidies, from homestead exemptions, to subsidies for farm equipment purchases.

Most people in the state are eligible for some form of tax subsidy. Even the state’s car tag fund counts as a kind of subsidy. Tampering with the popular homestead exemption is likely a no-no, in any case, but not everybody can successfully argue for the money they get when forced to explain it. Exemptions for tractors, for example, don’t just go to privately owned small farms. The state allows exemptions for farm equipment, fertilizer, cattle food, and seed and grain exemptions—many of which get claimed by agribusinesses.

“If there’s one place the state can cut the fat and make people justify government giveaways, besides Medicaid, they need to look at government welfare put out in the way of exemptions. It’s government largesse, and it needs to be examined from top to bottom,” Flynt said.

“Why not launch an exemptions review, and require anybody with an exemption to come in and justify the exemption. Let’s just do an audit of them and see what benefit they create for the state. If you only knock out a third of the exemptions that aren’t found to be productive, then you’re talking about $333 million saved.”

Even if the state manages to whittle out one-tenth of junk exemptions, Flynt says it will save enough money to more than fill the $60 million Medicaid shortfall.

17

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2010 Legislative Preview:

Mississippi Legislature Faces a Dire Task

Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, said he would would introduce legislation during this year’s session to impose further restrictions on charter schools, limiting them to districts desigated as failing for two years in a row.

tion reforms like aligning tests to national standards and paying teachers based on student performance. Race to the Top is a competitive program, and states without a charterschool law are far less likely to receive funds. Mississippi’s old charter law, which limited the state to a total of four charters schools, expired in 2009.

Reps. Alyce Clark, D-Jackson, and Reecy Dickson, D-Macon, are renewing their effort to make sex education more available in public schools, citing the prevalent ignorance of the issue as one of the reasons for the state’s high teen-pregnancy rate.

The two are putting together a bill with Mayo to require every school district to adopt a sex-education policy.

State law does not currently mandate that districts provide sex education. Even the heavily populated Jackson Public Schools district does not show any strong interest in the abstinenceonly sex education officially recognized by the state.

The bill would phase sex education into the elementary and high-school years, with elementary sex education centering more on social education and relationship issues.

The bill does not envision the mechanics of actual sex being introduced until the high-school years.

Insurance Reform and ATVs Some bills on this year’s agenda have little to do with money, believe it or not. Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, will renew his annual call for an insurance policy-holders’ bill of rights.

“I’ve tried several times on the policy-holders’ bill of rights. I’ve pressed on this anti-concurrent causation exclusion in policies, but I just can’t get the insurance committee chairman to bring it up. But I’m going to try again,” said Baria, who also wants to establish a program similar to Florida’s My Safe Florida Home program.

The Florida Legislature created the program in 2006 to help Floridians identify and make improvements to strengthen their homes against hurricanes through 400,000 free wind inspections and $35,000 in grant funds to eligible homeowners.

“We’ve got to go farther,” said Baria, whose coastal home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“There is a National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ model code that has been adopted by 48 states.

Mississippi and Alabama have refused to adopt it at this point, and I’m going to try to get us to become the 49th state to adopt it.”

Baria is also working to strengthen the state’s open meetings law by stiffening the penalties for illegally closing public meetings from $500 to $1,000, and make the penalties apply to the individual violator rather than the government body. Government bodies, such as councils and boards, often follow the suggestion of one or two people in illegally closing a meeting to the public.

Aiming the penalties at the individual petitioner will keep taxpayers from footing the bill when somebody decides to break the law.

“The penalty is a mere tap on the hand, not even a slap on the wrist. They didn’t have any disincentive to violate the law. If it violates the Open Meetings Act, then there ought to be penalties commiserate with the law,” Baria said. “Give folks who want to pursue their challenges on the legality of closing meetings the right to recover their attorney’s fees.”

As an example of the current open meetings law’s relative weakness, Baria cited an August 2009 incident, in which two of the three state transportation commisssioners, Bill Minor (not the columnist) and Wayne Brown, met over dinner to discuss an interchange project with state transportation director Butch Brown. They did not invite the third transportation commissioner, Dick Hall, and Hall subsequently lodged a complaint with the state Ethics Commission, arguing that the meeting violated the state’s open meetings law. The Ethics Commission agreed, but it declined to fine the violators $100 each, because that money would have come from the state Transportation Commission’s budget and thus, from state taxpayers.

Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, likely will submit another bill this year to restrict the governor’s power to suspend prisoners’ incarceration. Last year, some senators made a run at trying to force the governor to let society know when he’s going to arbitrarily release convicted murderers and stalkers from prison. Jones and other senators pounced on the issue after the Jackson Free Press reported in 2008 that Barbour had orchestrated the release of a

string of prisoners convicted of killing wives and girlfriends.

The issue came to a head when Barbour granted a 90-day furlough to Leslie Bowlin, who got a life sentence plus 25 years in 1991 for rape and kidnapping after beating a young woman in the head with a gun and dragging her off to the woods. Jones’ bill survived the House without issue, while a similar bill came out of the Senate with few people standing against it. The bill died in conference, however.

Baria also will push for a tax credit for “green energy” renovations to homes and businesses.

“We’re talking about solar, geothermal and wind technologies, and high-efficiency appliances,” Baria said. “The wind and solar stuff is a pretty valuable tax credit. If you would put a $25,000 wind or solar plant on your house, then you’d get up to a $12,500 tax credit, which would reduce the price of your installation by about 50 percent. The idea is to make it more affordable for folks to buy into these kinds of systems, make their use more widespread and to promote it in that fashion, but also to create jobs.”

Mississippi currently is one of the few states that do not offer a state incentive for investing in wind or solar technology for homes.

Mississippi is also one of the few states that do not make some forms of animal cruelty a felony. Sen. Gray Tollison, D-Oxford, will submit a bill trying to change that this year.

“There are heinous crimes, like that poor dog burned to death down in Natchez, and another case out in Brandon,” said Tollison, who champions the idea under the belief that some of the more demonic forms of animal cruelty are only the first course in a lifetime of potential cruelty that could eventually expand to human victims.

“This is not only about animals,” Tollison said. “We’ve seen that the people charged with doing some of the most heinous things to animals sometimes do it to people later.

(Milwaukee serial killer) Jeffrey Dahmer was cutting the heads off dogs and putting them on sticks before he started killing people.”

Tollison is also looking to submit legislation regulating the use of ATVs. His bill is timely. Winona Police are still investigating an ATV accident earlier in December that claimed the life of a 13-year-old boy in Montgomery County. Sam Myers died at UMC hospital Dec. 11 after he landed on his head when the four-wheeler he was riding flipped over.

Some legislators are looking to expand on Barbour’s call to close Oakley training school. The governor suggested closing several state institutions and steering offending minors to local rehabilitation services. Tollison said Hinds and Rankin counties offer examples of well-made local rehabilitation services for minors.

“It costs about $70 million to operate Oakley down there, with an average of 130 kids,” Tollison said. “Barbour’s proposing closing that and using some of the money from that to expand our adolescent community programs, which I think is a good idea.

Similarly, Baria is considering legislation to release certain non-violent offenders into criminal rehabilitation centers.

“It costs more to keep them in prison than alternative rehabilitation,” Baria said. “ Judge Keith Starrett, (now on the federal bench) started the diversion system in the drug court system. At the cost of about $1,500 per year they can go through an assimilation program, which is much less than housing them at Parchman, which runs $18,000 per inmate, per year.”

Additional reporting by Ward Schaefer.

jacksonfreepress.com

XXXXXX

from page 17

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The Muppets adult t-shirt, $19.50 Sesame Street hat, $20, The Museum Store Sesame Street child’s t-shirt, $13.50 Elmo hat, $20, The Museum Store

Key caps, $5 each, The Museum Store

Cookie Monster bottle cap necklace, $5.25, Create Happiness

Oscar the Grouch plush toy, $16, The Museum Store

Big Bird earrings, $8.95, Attitoodles

WHERE2SHOP Attitoodles

Sesame Street cookies, $16.50 a dozen, Campbell’s Bakery

www.attitoodles.etsy.com

Campbell’s Bakery 3013 N. State St. 601-362-4628

Candy’s Confections

Create Happiness www.createhappiness.etsy.com

The Museum Store at the Mississippi Museum of Art 380 S. Lamar St. 601-965-9939 www.store.msmuseumart.org

Sesame Street character cake, prices vary by cake size and design, Candy’s Confections Animal pins, $1 each, The Museum Store

jacksonfreepress.com

1149 Old Fannin Road, Suite 7, Brandon 601-992-9623 www.fatcakeguy.com

21

n o i t a n i g a m I ’s n o s n e H m i J

A Fun World

by Kate Brewster

COURTESY THE JIM HENSON COMPANY

work. The ceremony opened with a local elementary choir in black pants and collared white shirts singing the theme song from “Sesame Street,” followed by remarks from Henson’s close friends and coworkers.

Each section of the exhibit is a mazelike structure with Muppets at every turn, entertaining children and adults alike. Plaques explaining Henson’s creative ideas behind his characters such as Kermit the Frog “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World,” with Henson’s original puppets and sketches, will be and Manamana accomon display at the Mississippi Museum of Art until March 14. pany each display.

“Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” makes clear ert and Ernie wave at kids from their glass box while the immense impact Henson had on the lives of both puppeteers from “Sesame Street” and “Between adults and children. One could argue that his creative the Lions” greet the Mississippi Museum of Art talents surpass those of any in the field, except perhaps visitors. More than 130 brightly colored puppets Walt Disney. Henson’s work especially touches those of us and Jim Henson’s original sketches for the television show here in the greater Jackson area.

Henson’s humble beginnings are perhaps best reflected “Sesame Street” and the film “The Dark Crystal” line the in his most popular character, Kermit the Frog. Kermit was new exhibit “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World.” Televisions sit born and raised in a bayou much like those surrounding the inconspicuously in the corners, showing Henson’s early rise Greenville area. His kind nature and sense of country living to fame. Included in the exhibit is a stage and props for show the true heart of Mississippi culture. kids with active imaginations, where they can perform their Kermit’s creator was born in 1936 in Greenville, own puppet shows and performances. where he led a creative and exciting life, keeping his Guests like Roscoe Orman (Gordon from “Sesame friends and family laughing with his fun-loving attitude Street”) and well-known philanthropists Jim and Donna and childhood antics until he entered the University of Barksdale gathered with other grateful Jacksonians Maryland in 1954.

Dec. 19 to commemorate Mississippian Henson’s life’s

B

In 1955, Henson started a short television show called “Sam and Friends” with his future wife Jane Nebel.

It was the start of Henson’s rise to fame with silly socklike puppets and simple humor. (This was Kermit’s first introduction to national television.) The show quickly led to a commercial contract with Wilkins Coffee two years later, the beginnings of a much bigger enterprise.

It wasn’t until 1960 that Henson’s Muppets appeared for the first time on the “Today Show,” later leading to the premiere of “Sesame Street” in 1969.

Henson spent the next several years promoting his unusual puppets, producing movies like “The Dark Crystal” and “The Muppet Movie” and TV shows such as “Fraggle Rock.”

Toward the end of his career, Henson and his wife made appearances in schools across the United States. Two years after her husband’s sudden death in 1990 at age 53 from pneumonia, Jane Henson established the “Jim Henson Legacy,” a children’s literacy and education program that carries Henson’s legacy through live presentations and exhibits.

Henson once remarked, “As children, we all live in world of imagination, of fantasy, and for some of us that world of make-believe continues into adulthood.”

From his simple roots, Jim Henson became one of the most recognized names in children’s entertainment.

Through shows like “Sesame Street” and several Muppet films, Henson showed a remarkable understanding of children and humor, and an understanding that, regardless of age, imagination and creativity never go away.

“Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” will be on display at the Mississippi Museum of Art until March 14, 2010, including a special performance of “Between the Lions” Jan. 29 and 30 with varying show times starting at 9:30 a.m. Admission is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors; $6 students; children 5 and under get in free. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon until 5 p.m.

Ice Cream Sandwiches for Grover

22

I IST KR

January 7 - 13, 2010

“S

esame Street” used to have a segment in which über-friendly voices sang a little song about a group of objects: One of these things is not like the others.

One of these things just doesn’t belong.

Can you tell me which thing is not like the others?

By the time I finish my song?

On screen you would see something like a goat, a puppy and a dump truck. My sister and I would point excitedly at the dump truck and exclaim, “Ooh! Ooh! It’s the dump truck. It’s the dump truck!”

We were always right, and we always had a smug little smile of great accomplishment when the happy voice would say: “Did you guess the dump truck? Then you were absolutely right.” We were really good at that game.

This recipe is kind of like that song. In the list of ingreN dients you’ll find two things that don’t appear to belong. But BR EN EM unlike the “Sesame Street” ditty, these things actually do work EN perfectly well together. At your next dinner party, serve this dessert and watch your guests’ faces as they discover the surprises soon after taking the second bite. You could even sing the song as you mix everything together. Grover would be proud.

by Tom Ramsey

HOT CHILI ICE CREAM SANDWICHES 1 quart high-quality vanilla ice cream 4 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts 1/2 teaspoon Mexican chili powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if desired) 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 package Anna’s Cappuccino Cookies (available online) Chocolate Syrup

Allow the ice cream to soften for about 20 minutes, but not so long that it liquefies.

In a large mixing bowl, combine ice cream, cream cheese and peanut butter.

With a hand or electric mixer, thoroughly blend the ingredients until they are completely combined. Add the peanuts,

chili powder and cayenne pepper and mix until they are fully incorporated into the mixture. Tear off a sheet of cling wrap large enough to cover the bowl. Push the cling wrap onto the top of the ice cream mixture so that there is no air between the mixture and the cling wrap.

Place the bowl in the freezer for at least two hours or as long as two days.

Place one of the cookies in the bottom of a large, shallow bowl. Apply a large scoop of the ice cream mixture to the top of the cookie. Vertically insert a second cookie into the scoop of ice cream so that it stands on its edge.

Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the ice cream in thin streams, then sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.

BEEMON DRUGS PRESCRIPTIONS

SERVING NORTHEAST JACKSON

The Party’s In Madison

SINCE 1956 601-366-9431 MAYWOOD MART Hours of Operation: 8am -7pm Monday - Friday 8am -6pm Saturday | Closed on Sunday

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IN THE WALL - Good Showing, 2009 • BEST HANGOVER FOOD - Good Showing, 2009 • BEST

www.thepizzashackjackson.com DEAR FRIENDS, As another year comes to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect upon the past and talk about our plans for the upcoming year.

First of all, we would like to thank you, our customers and friends. Your loyalty and patronage have built The Pizza Shack from the ground up and turned it into one of Jackson’s premier establishments. Without your loyalty and support, there is no Pizza Shack. You guys are the best and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Second, we would like to thank our employees. We realize that we went through a lot of growing pains together and you were always by our sides. You guys rock and we love you.

We would also like to thank our distributors. Deke, Glen, Brian, Joey and countless others who stood by our side through good times and bad. We wouldn’t be here without you and we are truly grateful. You guys are not only friends, but also family.

A word to our advertisers... Thomas, Chuck & Doug at Clear Channel, Lee at WLEZ and the crew at the Jackson Free Press - You helped build our business and were always there with intuitive advice and a common goal to help build a little business into a local landmark. Thank you for being there. You guys are great.

In the next year, we promise to bring you more innovative menu items and a level of customer service that can’t be topped. You are not only our customer but the backbone of our business. We have the best customers in the world, and we thank each and every one of you.

On a side note, we have listened to your requests for more Pizza Shacks around the Metro area and we are diligently working to meet these requests. We hope to have one in your area soon.

Finally, we want to wish EVERYBODY a Merry Christmas. We hope all your dreams will be fulfilled in the coming year and a safe and wonderful Holiday Season for everybody.

God Bless You All, Michael Parker and Larry Emmett Proprieters/The Pizza Shack

Dine-In / Carry-Out Mon - Thur: 11am-10pm Fri - Sat: 11am-11pm Sun: Noon - 9pm 1220 N State St. (across from Baptist) - 601-352-2001

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Creating • Catering • Coordinating

23

BEST BETS January 7 - 14

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

THURSDAY 1/7

COURTESY LEIGH PORTWOOD

“The World Through Lou’s Lens” exhibit opens at 8 a.m. at the Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.) and will be up through Jan. 21. Free; call 601-960-1557. ...

The Mississippi Blues Trail marker unveiling for Cassandra Wilson at Brinkley Middle School (3535 Albermarle Road) starts at 10 a.m. Free; call 601-960-1891, ext. 310. ... Blues lunch with Stevie J at F. Jones Corner starts at noon, followed by music from the Blues at Sunset Challenge Band at 5 p.m.

Free. … Enjoy shopping, food and art during Fondren after Five in the Fondren neighborhood between 5 and 8 p.m.

Free; call 601-981-9606. … The first day of the Mississippi Blues Marathon and Half-Marathon Expo at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.) is from 5 to 9 p.m. Continues Jan. 8 from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Call 601-

$15-$25; call 1-866-44-PEARL, ext. 30356. … Juvenators perform at Fire at 10:30 p.m. $5.

SATURDAY 1/9

TUESDAY 1/12

The Mississippi Blues Marathon and Half-Marathon begins at 7 a.m. at the corner of State and Capitol streets. $15$200 registration fee; call 601-664-5726. … The Jim Henson movie “The Muppet Movie” at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) begins at 6 p.m. $5 museum members, $7 non-members, $3 1-5 year olds; call 601-960-1515. …

“Chamber II: Mozart by Candlelight” at Belhaven Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Dr.) starts at 7:30 p.m. $15 adults; $5 children 4-18 and students with valid ID; call 601-960-1565. … Gospoetry at Koinonia Coffee House 8 p.m.-midnight. $5. … Kamikaze and Yardboy perform at Cultural Expressions at 9 p.m. $5. … Nekisopaya plays jazz fusion at Fenian’s 9 p.m.-midnight. Free. … Sons of the Subway play Martin’s at 10 p.m. $6. … Houserockers perform at Schimmel’s in Fondren 10 p.m.-2 a.m. $5.

“Music in the City” at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) starts at 5:15 p.m. Free, donations welcome; call 601-354-1533. … Open-mic night at Café 101 (101 South St.) at 7 p.m. featuring Stevie J and The Blues Eruption Band. $5 cover; call 601-353-0434. … Pub Quiz at Hal & Mal’s at 8 p.m. Open mic at Fenian’s (9 p.m.), Ole Tavern, Time Out (8 p.m.) and Final Destination. … The Rainmakers play Fitzgerald’s 8 p.m.-midnight. … Karaoke at McB’s (7 p.m.) and Martin’s (10 p.m.).

SUNDAY 1/10 The Premier Bridal Show at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.) starts at noon. $25; call 601-957-1050. … Chris Gill performs at Pelican Cove Grill 2-6 p.m. … Rhythm Masters play Shucker’s 3-7 p.m.

Free. … “Jazz, Blues & More” featuring The Musicians at Atwood Elks Lodge (3100 Lynch St.) 6:30-8:30 p.m. $5. ... Open mic at Martin’s at 10 p.m. Free.

MONDAY 1/11 Blues lunch with Sherman Lee Dillon at F. Jones Corner at noon. … “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) ongoing until March 14. $12 adults, $10 seniors, $6 students; call 601-960-1515. …

Central Mississippi Blues Society Jam at Hal & Mal’s Red Room 7-11 p.m. $5.

WEDNESDAY 1/13 “History Is Lunch” with David Preziosi at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.) begins at noon. Bring a lunch; coffee/water provided. Free; call 601-576-6850. … Virgil Brawley and Steve Chester perform at Underground 119 8-11 p.m. Free. … Shaun Patterson performs at Time Out. … Karaoke at Pelican Cove Grill (6-10 p.m.), Last Call Sports Grill (9 p.m.), Ole Tavern, The Auditorium (9 p.m.-midnight), Footloose (8 p.m.-midnight) and Electric Cowboy.

THURSDAY 1/14 JFP Lounge at Pi(e) Lounge at Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.) 6-10 p.m. Free admission; call 601-362-6121, ext.

11. … “A Walk Through the Arts” chili supper and silent auction at Power APAC (1120 Riverside Drive) starts at 6 p.m. $5 individuals, $10 immediate families; call 601-960-5300. … The musical “The Wizard of Oz” at Thalia Mara Hall (225 E. Pascagoula St.) starts at 7:30 p.m. Another showing Jan. 15 at same time. $15 and up; call 601-981-1847. …

Larry Brewer performs at The Auditorium 7:30-9 p.m. …

St. Brigid’s plays Irish folk at Fenian’s 8:30-11:30 p.m. Free.

More events and details at jfpevents.com.

Singer Cassandra Wilson will be honored with a Mississippi Blues Trail marker Jan. 7 at Brinkley Middle School.

FRIDAY 1/8 January 7 - 13, 2010

Last day to see the Power APAC art exhibits at JacksonEvers International Airport (100 International Drive) and Sneaky Beans (2914 N. State St.); $30 matted photos at Sneaky Beans; call 601-960-5300. … Last day for “Monsters of the Deep: Aquatic Giants in Flesh and Bone” at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). Call 601-354-7303. … Emma Wynters and Barry Pace perform at Kathryn’s (6800 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland) at 7 p.m.

Free. …The concert “Three Faces of the King: An Exciting Tribute to Elvis Presley” in Silver Star Convention Center at 24 Pearl River Resort (Highway 16, Choctaw) begins at 8 p.m.

COURTESY PETER COOMBS/TRUE MARKETING

664-5726. … Jackie Bell, Norman Clark and Smoke Stack Lightning play 930 Blues Café at 8 p.m. $5.

Dorothy (Cassie Okenka) and the Scarecrow (Adam Jepsen) will perform in “The Wizard of Oz” Jan. 14 and 15 at Thalia Mara Hall.

MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

lso We a r! cate

Dine in or Take Out! Sun-Thurs 11am - 10pm Fri and Sat 11am - 11pm

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Fondren / Belhaven / UMC area

Visit our Gro cery Store next door

163 Ridge Way - Ste. E - Flowood, MS Tel: 601-922-7338 Fax: 601-992-7339

Downtown’s Newest Pizza & Soulfood Buffet

DAILY LUNCH SPECIALS Soup & Salad Bar Available Everyday 200 South Lamar Street in Jackson Monday - Friday | 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Phone: 601-355-1955

THIS WEEK,S LINE UP WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6 KARAOKE WITH CORY DRAKE 9:00 P.M.

PERFORMING LIVE

THURSDAY JANUARY 7 LARRY BREWER 6:00 P.M. BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 7:30 P.M.

January 6 at 6pm

FRIDAY JANUARY 8 ANGELA WALLS 7:30 P.M.

SATURDAY JANUARY 9 SHAUN PATTERSON 7:30 P.M.

R&B ARTIST, MONDAY – FRIDAY NOON – 7 PM

2 for 1 Domestics & Wells 622 Duling Ave. Jackson, MS

601-982-0002

Glenn Jones For Table Reservations, Please Call 769-234-2209

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HAPPY HOUR

25

jfpevents

THIS WEEK COMMUNITY

3RD ANNUAL

MS BLUES MARATHON & HALF-MARATHON

MISSISSIPPI BLUES MARATHON AND HALF-MARATHON Begins at the Old Capitol Museum, January 9, 7am info@bluesmarathon.com, www.msbluesmarathon.com CULTURE

JIM HENSON’S FANTASTIC WORLD Through March 14th at the Mississippi Museum of Art 601-960-1515, www.msmuseumart.org

MUSIC

SCOTT ALBERT JOHNSON, SONS OF THE SUBWAY Martin’s, January 9, 7:30pm 601-354-9712, www.martinslounge.net DINING

BASIL’S Stop by Basil’s for the Roast Beef Panini or the Chicken Garden Salad.

Visit www.downtown-jackson.com for a complete calendar.

Call 601-353-9800 for calendar information.

JFP SPONSORED EVENTS Mississippi Happening Jan. 7, 7 p.m., at Mississippi Happening Web site. Live broadcast during Fondren After 5. Download the free podcast at mississippihappening.com.

JFP Lounge at Pi(e) Lounge Jan. 14, 6-10 p.m., at Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.). Enjoy a special JFP “Creative Class” martini, free munchies, and lots of fellowship with Jackson creatives and progressives. Free admission; call 601-362-6121, ext. 11.

COMMUNITY Cassandra Wilson Blues Marker Unveiling Jan. 7, 10 a.m., at Brinkley Middle School (3535 Albermarle Road). The Cassandra Wilson unveiling is the 100th (and Jackson’s 8th) historic blues marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Free; call 601-960-1891, ext. 310.

Fondren After 5 Jan. 7, 5-8 p.m., in Fondren. This monthly event showcases the local shops, galleries and restaurants of the Fondren neighborhood.

Free; call 601-981-9606.

Mississippi Blues Marathon and Half-Marathon Expo Jan. 7-8, at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). The two-day expo will be 5-9 p.m. on Jan. 7 and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Jan. 8.

Race participants must pick up their packets at the expo. No late or race-day packet pick-ups allowed, and runners must show ID. Enjoy food samples and live blues music. Featured speakers include Bill Rodgers and Dane Rauschenburg.

Call 601-664-5726.

Mississippi Blues Marathon and Half-Marathon Jan. 9, 7 a.m. at the corner of State and Capitol streets in downtown Jackson. The Kids’ Marathon will begin at 8 a.m. $30,000 in cash prizes will be given away to the top runners in several categories.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Mississippi Blues Commission. Registration prior to the race is required for all runners. $15-$200 fee; call 601-664-5726.

The Premier Bridal Show Jan. 10, noon, at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.).

Includes a gallery of gowns, a photo gallery, tablescapes, a runway fashion show, a club room with live bands, a grooms’ room and door prizes. No strollers allowed. $25; call 601-957-1050.

Millsaps Arts and Lecture Series: Connie Gibbons Jan. 12, 7 p.m., at Millsaps College - Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.).

Connie Gibbons, executive director of the B.B. King Museum, will present a program on B.B. King, his music and the Mississippi Delta that inspired him, all brought to life through archival film footage and sound clips. This event includes a live performance by blues musician Jerry Fair, who will showcase B.B.’s signature sound. $10; call 601-974-1130.

January 7 - 13, 2010

“History Is Lunch” Jan. 13, noon, at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). David Preziosi, Mississippi Heritage Trust, will show images of and talk about the sites on the “10 Most Endangered” list. Bring your own lunch; coffee/water provided. Free; call 601-576-6850.

26

Public Policy Toastmasters Club 8689 Meeting Jan. 13, 5:30 p.m., at Jackson State University (1400 Lynch St.), in the Sampson Library auditorium on the second floor. Improve your communication skills and become a better speaker and leader. Membership required. Call for details on membership dues; call 601-918-8523.

W. KESSLER LTD. presents THE BEST OF BROADWAY JANUARY 14 and 15 :: 7:30 PM :: THALIA MARA HALL ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000

Events at Jackson Medical Mall Community Meeting Room (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.) Call 601-982-8467.

• Community Outreach for Health Awareness (COHA) Meeting Jan. 7, 11:30 p.m.

• Board of Examiners Meeting Jan. 8, 8 a.m.

• Delta Sigma Theta Meeting Jan. 9, 8:30 a.m.

• Mississippi HIV/AIDS Council Planning Meeting Jan. 11, 9 a.m.

• Utica Alumni Association Meeting Jan. 11, 6:30 p.m.

• Jackson Medical Mall Foundation Teen Summit Meeting Jan. 12, 2 p.m.

• JSU Jackson-Hinds Alumni Chapter Meeting Jan. 12, 6 p.m.

• MINCAP Business Session Jan. 12, 8 p.m.

Open to the public.

“Why Should We Have Healthcare Reform?”

Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). Part of the Medgar Evers/Ella Baker Civil Rights Lecture Series, panelists will discuss the necessity of health-care reform.

Free; call 601-979-1562.

Events at Baptist Medical Center - Baptist for Women Conference Center (1225 N. State St.).

Call 601-948-6262 or 1-800-948-6262.

• Infant CPR Jan. 11, 6 p.m. Registration required. $5 for those delivering their baby at Baptist, all others $25.

• Infant Massage Class Jan. 12, 4:30 p.m. Free, registration required.

• “Longing for a Baby” Jan. 12, 6:30 p.m.

Free, registration required.

• Marvelous Multiples Childbirth Classes Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m. Registration required. $15 for materials ($100 if not delivering at Baptist).

STAGE AND SCREEN “Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure” MegaHD Cinema through June 30, at Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). Paleontologists explore sea habitats in search of new fossils and evidence of prehistoric reptiles. $6.50 adults, $5.50 seniors, $4 children; call 601-960-1550.

Henson Movie Series Jan. 9, 6 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). In honor of the exhibit “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World,” the museum will offer movie nights featuring Jim Henson movies. This month’s feature is “The Muppet Movie.” Come early and get your food and beverages in The Palette Cafe by Viking; $5 museum members, $7 non-members, $3 for 1-5 year olds; call 601-960-1515.

“The Wizard of Oz” Jan. 14-15, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (225 E.Pascagoula St.). Enjoy the theatrical version of the 1939 classic film.

The roles of the munchkins will be played by 12 students from Ballet Mississippi. $15 and up; call 601-981-1847.

MUSIC “Three Faces of the King: An Exciting Tribute to Elvis Presley” Jan. 8, 8 p.m., at Pearl River Resort (Highway 16, Choctaw), in the Silver Star Convention Center. A tribute to Elvis’ music from the ’50’s to the ’70’s, in concert and in costume.

Performers include Bill Cherry, Rick Alviti, Kavan, the Jordanaires and D.J. Fontana Jr. Band. $15$25; call 1-866-44-PEARL, ext. 30356.

Chamber II: Mozart by Candlelight Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m., at Belhaven University - Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Dr.). Features Mozart’s popular “Symphony No. 40 in G Minor” and an appearance by the Mississippi Chorus Chamber Choir. $15 adults; $5 children 4-18 and students with valid ID; call 601-960-1565.

Music in the City Jan. 12, 5:15 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). This new partnership with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral encourages Jacksonians to stay downtown for some culture and fun. Hors d’oeuvres at 5:15 p.m., music performance begins at 5:45 p.m.

Free, donations welcome; call 601-354-1533.

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS Events at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 I-55). Call 601-366-7619.

• “I, Sniper” Jan. 7, 5 p.m. Stephen Hunter signs copies of his book. Reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $26 book.

• “Baby, Let’s Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him” Jan. 9, 1 p.m.

Alanna Nash signs copies of her book. $27.99 book.

CREATIVE CLASSES Stringing Class ongoing, at Dream Beads (605 Duling Ave.). This class is offered every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Free; call 601-664-0411.

Cake Decorating Workshop Jan. 9, 9 a.m., at Viking Cooking School (1107 Highland Colony Parkway (Township at Colony Park). Learn the basics of cake decorating such as piping borders and rosettes. Price of class includes a cake decorating kit. $135; call 601-898-8347.

GALLERIES Power APAC Visual Arts Display through Jan. 8, at Jackson-Evers International Airport (100 International Drive). Artwork by Power APAC Visual Arts students is on display. Free; call 601-960-5387 or 601-960-5300.

Power APAC Digital Photography Exhibit through Jan. 8, at Sneaky Beans (2914 N. State St.). 8 x 10 matted prints of photographs by Power APAC Visual Arts students are for sale. $30 per print; call 601-960-5387 or 601-960-5300.

Art Exhibit Jan. 7, 5 p.m., at Brown’s Fine Art (630 Fondren Pl.). Open for Fondren After 5.

Free; call 601-982-4844.

Art Exhibit Jan. 7, 5 p.m., at Fondren Art Gallery (601 Duling St.). Open for Fondren After 5. Free; call 601-981-9222.

“A Walk Through the Arts” Jan. 14, 6 p.m., at Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex (1120 Riverside Drive). Includes a chili supper and a silent auction. APAC Fine Arts T-shirts will be available to purchase. Sponsored by A-Cubed (Artists, Advocates, & Accolades). $5 individuals, $10 immediate families; call 601-960-5387 or 601-960-5300.

Glass Exhibit through March 31, at Pearl River Glass Studio (142 Millsaps Avenue). Recent work

by Andrew Cary Young and other studio artists will be on display. Free; call 601-353-2497.

remarkable history of visual arts in the Magnolia State. Free.

Events at Walter Anderson Museum of Art (510 Washington Ave., Ocean Springs). Call 228-8723164.

• “American Masters of the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” through Jan. 10. “American Masters of the Mississippi Gulf Coast” seeks to illuminate the intersection of the lives and work of George Ohr, Dusti Bonge, Walter Anderson and Richmond Barthe, and to further examine the history of the creative region of the Gulf Coast. $3 and up.

• “Light on Water” Jan. 10-March 21. This exhibition will include oil paintings by Melinda Gandy. $3 and up.

Events at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). Call 601-354-7303.

• “Monsters of the Deep: Aquatic Giants in Flesh and Bone” through Jan. 8. This exhibit shows visitors giant creatures from the deep, ranging from prehistoric animals to the whales, sharks and turtles in the world’s waters today.

Free.

• “Back to Nature” through Feb. 1. Photographers are invited to submit photos of scenes from around and inside the museum, with the winners receiving awards and having their work displayed.

Free.

“Recent Acquisitions: 2004-2009” through March 24, at Lauren Rogers Museum of Art (565 N. Fifth Ave., Laurel). The museum has acquired approximately 75 works of art by gift, purchase and bequest since 2003. The exhibit is in the Lower Level Galleries. Free, suggested donation of $3 for adults; call 601-649-6374.

“Just Dance” through April 30 at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). To commemorate the International Ballet Competition’s return to Jackson, the Greater Jackson Arts Council is calling for entries to its juried invitational in media such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, film/video, mixed media and installation. Only photos, digital prints or digital files accepted; no slides or original artwork. Artists may submit up to three entries. Samples will not be returned. Contact the GJAC for official entry forms. $25 entry fee; call 601-960-1557.

Voted Best Tattoo Parlor Best of Jackson 2009 Schedule an appointment for tat toos by Jason Thomas, Erica Flannes, Mike Richardson & J.J. Luther

“Legacy of Timbuktu: Wonders of the Written Word” ongoing, at International Museum of Muslim Culture (201 E. Pascagoula St.). In the last millennium, an important global legacy was uncovered: the literate culture of Africa. This legacy lives in the extraordinary richness of historical manuscripts that still survive. Free; call 601-960-0440.

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings.

To add an event, e-mail all details (phone number, start/end date and time, street address, cost, Web link, etc.) to events@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601-510-9019. Deadline is noon the Thursday prior to the week of publication. Or, add the event online yourself; check out jfpevents.com for instructions.

BE THE CHANGE The World Through Lou’s Lens Jan. 7-25 at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). An exhibit showcasing 80 years of Lou Shornick’s photography along with pieces donated by various local artists such as Anthony DiFatta, Tony Davenport and Bill Wilson. All proceeds from the sale of the artwork will go to the KIDS Fund established at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson to support the launch of Mississippi Music N Motion, a new music education program for underprivileged students. Free with paid admission; call 601-960-1557.

jacksonfreepress.com

Events at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Call 601-960-1515.

• Bethlehem Tree: Younger Foundation Creche Collection through Jan. 10. The installation in Trustmark Grand Hall includes more than 150 authentic and scarce 18th-century figures, and includes beloved religious figures.

Free.

• Jim Henson’s Fantastic World through March 14. This exhibit offers a rare glimpse into the imagination of the creator of characters like Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, and hundreds of others. See original artwork, including drawings and cartoons, as well as objects like puppets and movie props, all of which reveal the brilliant mind of their creator. $12 adults, $10 seniors, $6 students.

• “Pre-Columbian Ceramics,” ongoing. The objects displayed in the cases of the museum’s lobby originate from two continents and represent a time span of more than 2,000 years. Free.

• “The Mississippi Story,” ongoing. Comprised of artwork from the museum’s permanent collection, “The Mississippi Story” reveals the

27

musicreviews

by Carl Gibson

A

fter four years of effort, local musician and public school teacher Mary Ann Henry, better known by her stage name, Emma Wynters, released “Mississippi Madness.” Wynters and a hodgepodge of Jackson-area performers and vocalists collaborate on her fourth album, which features a wide array of instrumentation. Wynters’ bluesy, soulful lyrics of heartbreak, scorn, and her Mississippi Delta roots complement the sound of slide and electric guitar, harmonica, saxophone, various percussion and keyboards.

Local musicians including Ezra Brown, Mike Pinter, Larry Fortenberry, Marty Smith (of Mike and Marty), Chris Gill, Tim Avalon and Raphael Semmes collaborated with Wynters on the CD. A saying by Riverton, Miss., blues musician Son House, who influenced legends like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, sums up the message of Emma Wynters’ songs about lost unrequitted love and scornful rejection.

“Love hide all fault, make you do things you don’t wanna do. Love, sometimes it make you feel sad and blue.”

The CD opens with the title track, led by a simple, haunting rhythm-guitar melody, with a familiar blues chord structure. In between Wynters’ crooning about finding salvation in the midst of the Mississippi Delta, a slide guitar lead, lightly accented by the faintest hint

DJanuary 7 - 13, 2010

of a harmonica, takes charge, setting the tone for the rest of the album.

The mood changes on the third track, “Ain’t Dyin’ for Your Love.” With a slightly faster, more driving tempo, the rhythm guitar becomes more pronounced and deliberate, while a lead acoustic guitar emphasizes some back-porch blues over the wail of the harmonica. A devoted blues listener can pick out Wynters’ Delta blues roots through her soulful lyrics of unrequited love and spiteful scorn.

For something more chill Saturday night, tickets are going fast for one of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s most popular and romantic events. Joining the MSO is the Mississippi Chorus performing the annual Mozart

by Candlelight concert at the Belhaven Center for the Arts on Riverside Drive, 7: 30 p.m. $15. Get tickets at msorchestra.com, or call 601The Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music brings the world-renowned, Parisian 960-1565. With the charm of medieval-music duo Sequentia to St. James Episcopal Church Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. the auditorium lit by candlelight, advance tickets are recommended to ensure a seat.

Next Thursday, Jan. 14 be sure to check out the local The incomparable guitar bluesman Vasti Jackson all-female Irish/Folk quintet St. Brigid’s from 8:30-11: will be at Underground 119 this Saturday night, 9 p.m. 30 pm., free. The original St. Brigid—the group’s inJackson has been been touring southern Europe and Af- spiration—was a fifth-century Irish saint credited with rica with a new album and another on the way. Back in turning her bath water into beer. The group’s immense 2007 Jackson was runner-up in the JFP’s Best of Jackson musical vibe just might inspire you to similar miracles.

R&B vocals category. Be sure to welcome him home to Check them out at www.stbrigids.ms.

The Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music Mississippi, and show him your support Saturday night.

Jackson’s been honing his chops ready for a hometown brings its highly recommended public-radio style throwdown. concert next Saturday, Jan. 16, to St. James Episcopal I also recommend jazz/fusion favorites Nekisopaya Church in Fondren, 7:30 p.m. $20. The Parisian duo Saturday at Fenian’s, 9 p.m. free. Scott Albert Johnson Sequentia, one of the most renowned and virtuosic will kick off a free roots-juke show at Martin’s Saturday, medieval groups in the world will perform eighth-to 7:30-9:30 p.m., followed by Sons of the Subway with 11th-century European music with voice, harp and Travis Brawley and Andrew Dillon. See if the young flute. The next stop on this one-of-a kind tour is Vanones can do it old school like Jackson godfather’s “Big couver, so be sure not to miss this performance. For details, visit sequentia.org or call 601-594-5584.

Juv” Brawley and Sherman Lee Dillon.

—Herman Snell Every Thursday night is Irish night at Fenian’s.

COURTESY SEQUENTIA

28

Several Jackson artists joined Emma Wynters on her new CD “Mississippi Madness,” a mix of original and traditional blues songs.

The album isn’t completely composed of original songs, however. Track seven is a cover of the well-loved blues traditional, “House of the Rising Sun.” Wynters stays true to the original elements of the song, and a zydeco/bayou blues trifecta of accordion, harmonica and a sorrowful lead electric guitar complement her husky voice.

The 11th and final track, “Fool For Ever Leavin’ You,” is a live cut, featuring a country-western lead guitar, and bending harmonica notes and solos throughout.

Wynters started her musical career by brazenly performing in front of local audiences at open-mic events, and says the first time she played with a band was in front of a live audience. “I was like, ‘God, this sounds really good,’” she says, laughing.

The schoolteacher and mother of two recently celebrated the culmination of her endeavors on “Mississippi Madness,” which she says was possible through the help of friend Tim Cotton and his mobile recording studio.

“He took a van, like the buses they use at the casinos, and had it totally re-done,” she says. “We kind of grew together. I kind of was his guinea pig project . …

The last few things on the CD we did in his mother and dad’s living room, because it had great acoustics.”

“Mississippi Madness” is available online via Emma Wynters’ page at loungelist.com.

XXXX

A

fter the holiday hustle and bustle, many of us find ourselves buckling down and paying off a little holiday debt. For your pleasure, many low or no-cost musical options can ease your woes.

Tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 6, is singer/songwriter night at Hal & Mal’s, 7 p.m. to midnight. The event will showcase many of the talented local female songwriters in the area including Samantha Clark, Emma Wynters, Anna Kline, Laurel Isbister, Richelle Putnam, Melody Moody and Valley Magee.

If you’re looking for something exotic Friday night, try on the synth-driven, prog-punk of the Zebras from Madison, Wis. The Zebras sound like an intense and thrashy mix of Dead Kennedys and early Devo, with a touch of improv instrumentation. Not exotic enough for you? Then head to the Electric Cowboy Friday to hear Bon-Journey, the worlds’ only Bon Jovi and Journey tribute band. If you’re not willing to admit your love for spandex just say you’re there for the ladies because ’80s ladies love to hear “Open Arms” by Journey.

If you’re up for a drive Friday night, Dr. Zarr’s Funkmonster is at the Ameristar in Vicksburg. If you’re a fan of Elvis, the Silverstar in Choctaw is hosting “Three Faces of the King,” an Elvis 75th birthday tribute, with Bill Cherry, Rick Alviti, Kavan and the Jordanaires performing Elvis’ classics from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

If that’s not tribute enough for you, hang tight for next Saturday, Jan. 16 when the AC/DC tribute band Hell’s Belles rocks out at Club Fire.

COURTESY EMMA WYNTERS

Mississippi Madness

TWO FREE DRAFT BEER MUGS

BANDS/DJS FOR HIRE Disc Jockey (DJ) Service Professional DJ - 20 Years Experience - Holiday Parties/Weddings/Birthdays/Private Parties, Lights/Fog/Etc available, Photography Services Available, Live Band Availble (601) 850-4380

GEAR SWR 750 Head Has seen some gigging, alot of miles left, Just call Tommy (601) 383-4891 Vintage Ampeg 70’s VT-40 combo. All tube, 60w, 4x10î speakers.

Loud and louder. $350. 601-214-1878.

Bach stradivarius trombone Bach Stradivarius trombone w/Closed wrap F -rotary, Excellent condition. $1,699.00 - can negotiate - 769 232 2415 Bass gear Quality professional gear. Swr Silverado combo.

350 watts RMS. $400. New aoustic 200 watt bass head $200. Two Swr 1 15’ and horn cabinets $250 ea. Loud and Clean Sold seperately or together.

(601) 214-4412 Professional Sound Engineers Need sound equipment or just a couple of engineers at your next event call Daniel 601.488.0436 any venue large or small anywhere in the south.

Complete PA Huge carvin pa for sale, all accessories, cables, processors, mics, stands, lights, amps, etc. Over $20,000 in gear to sell for best offers. Equipment is in as new condition. (225) 341-9391 Guitar Gear - Must Sell!!

Vox AD120VTH Valvetronix Stereo Head $400, 1x12 and 2x12 cabinets- $80-$125. (601) 540-1739 Baby Blue Electric Bass Baby Blue Electric Bass, Excellent condition ’75 Fender Music Master, short scale. $600.00 firm.

Call Tim or email reeves@cgdsl.net (601) 665-5976 Need extra sound?

Need sound or just an engineer at your next event call Daniel 601.488.0436 or Mike 601.291.9713.

1 - 1604vlz 1 - pmp-5000 - powered mixer 10 - b1520 pro - speaker cabinets 6 - b1800x pro - sub cabinets 4 - f1520 pro - monitor cabinets 5 - ep1500 - power amps 2 - ep2500 - power amps 1 - 266xl - compressor limiter 2 - s - 3-way crossover 2 - ew165g2 e865 - wireless mics 6 - pr99 - mics.

Lighting also available: 6 - Scanners 12 - Par Cans 1- Lazer

MISCELLANEOUS Need A Few Good Musicians Interested in helping to set up music non-profit organization (centered around the blues) for disadvantaged youths in the jackson metropolitan area?

If so, i am looking to talk to you. Need musicians who can teach everything from banjo, guitar, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, harmonica, piano, etc., Etc. Come be a part of this great project! (601) 924-0210.

MUSICIANS AVAILABLE Drummer Looking For Band I’m an experienced drummer looking to form/join a band. I have mostly played metal, but I am open to rock/hard rock/metal, etc. Call Dave at (769) 226-0845.

When you buy any menu item over $8 after 8pm every Fri. and Sat.

$5 Cover Charge 10 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.

Watch all games for the NFL Sunday Ticket, ESPN Game Plan, and the NFL Channel here!

14 TVs - 1 projector screen - 2 big screens

Daily Lunch Specials - $9

$3 STADIUM CUPS

Happy Hour Hour Everyday Everyday 4-7 4-7 Happy

during all Bowl & Play-Off games

LIVE MUSIC Every Tues. thru Sat.

Super Bowl Party!

Join us for lunch starting at $7.99 1428 Old Square Road in Jackson 601.713.2700 lastcallsportsgrill.com

LATE NIGHT HAPPY HOUR Sun. thru Thurs. 10pm - 12am Two-for-One, YOU CALL IT! “BADGE SPECIAL” Military, Fire, Police, & Emergency Personnel 2-for-1 drinks all day, everyday!

601.978.1839 6270 Old Canton Rd. Jackson, MS 39211

MUSICIANS WANTED Metal Singer & Bassist Wanted AnnX is looking for a Experienced Energetic METAL Vocalist and a Bass Player to play shows and write new material. (601) 383-4851 Metal bass player needed!!!

Local metal band looking for a replacement bass player. Must have Reliable Transportation and Responsible. Contact me @ parkschance@yahoo.com (601) 383-4851 New band Experienced bass player/vocal and sound engineer/ keyboard are forming a rock band. We are seeking experienced musicians to join. +30 age preferred.

Open to music from 1960’s to current day. Must own equipment and no illegal habits. Call Charles at (601) 898-1628 or Gary at (601) 850-4380 Become our Next Instructor Major Scales Studio is accepting applications for a classical or rock or jazz guitar teacher. Must have professional appearance. Please email your resume to Majorscales@aol.com.

Cellist Needed For Album/tour Cellist needed for my album and possibly to tour shortly after. I am signed with South City Records. I need to start recording ASAP! Must be reliable and dedicated. Please contact me at scorpiano31@gmail.com Drummer/Bassist needed - Metal We are in need of a drummer and a bassist. Experience in metal (death, black, etc.) is preffered, but not completely necessary. Call Buddy at (601)5025647. Thanks for reading.

-Buddy

Looking for band mates? Wanting to sell your gear? Advertise here for free! Visit JFP Classifieds.com. If you are interested in sponsoring the Musicians Exchange call JFP Sales at 601-362-6121

jacksonfreepress.com

BANDS WANTED vocalist looking for band im a rock vocalist looking for a band in need of a lead singer please call at any time my name is shane (601) 940-0510

Drummer Available Mature/seasoned drummer available. Have played everything from country to Christian Contemporary. Would like to join existing band or form new one with seasoned musicians ONLY...no beginners please! Would like to play classic rock, blues and/or contemporary. Call if interested. (601) 613-5835 Looking to Start Band I am a bass player new in town and am looking to start a band in the Jackson area. I need a guitarist, drummer and lead vocals. No specific genre is preferred, but the band will be based on rock and metal (no death or black metal). I’ve played in several bands and played out hundreds of times and am able to get gigs. If interested or for more info please call Chris @ 386-365-2944 Drummer Available 41 Year old drummer looking to play with existing group or start one. Great love for the instrument and really want to put something together for fun and profit (gigs 1-3 month). Rock, classic rock, pop, jazz, and swing. Good chops and attitude, no ego, just want to play. Call bill @ 601-955-7924 or e-mail at wricha2796@aol. Com. (601) 955-7924 Female Vocalist Seeking Band I am a 16-year-old female vocalist seeking a synthpop or rock band. Ages of band members preferrably 25 years or younger due to parental objections. Contact by email at freezepopforever10 29@hotmail.com.

Old Drummer Available!

Drummer available: most recently, i have played with the veterans of foreign bars band. Interested in playing blues, funk, soul, maybe country. I am an older guy and settled in for the duration.

I would be interested in a steady band, fill-in, and, possibly, a new start-up. Let me hear: mcdrum89@yahoo.Com or call 601-832-0831 Musician Available 25 Years experience playing Drums, Guitar & Bass.

Recently relocated to Jackson from Memphis, TN. All genres of music. Contact Tim at 601-665-5976.

Or email: reeves@cgdsl.net Serious inquires only.

29

livemusic 8

around S A Lthe O Ocorner N

Country and Rock Music OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK - 4 P.M. ‘TIL

HAPPY HOUR 5-7, MON-THURS

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR ALL SHOWS 10PM UNLESS NOTED WEDNESDAY

1/6

LADIES NIGHT LADIES DRINK ALL YOU CAN 8PM-12AM FOR $5 - NO COVER FRIDAY

WEDNESDAY - JAN 6 JORDANA Open Mic / Ladies Night / 2 FOR 1 DOMESTICS

THURSDAY - JAN 7 9 Ball Tournament @ 7 FRIDAY - JAN 8

TREY JEWEL @ 9:30 SATURDAY - JAN 9

MEASURE 36 @ 9:30

1/8

SUNDAY - JAN 10 2 for 1 Domestics MONDAY - JAN 11 MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 2 FOR 1 DOMESTICS & FREE FOOD

TUESDAY - JAN 12 Pool League Night

GUN BOAT SATURDAY

1/9

2636 S. Gallatin Jackson, MS 39204

601-961-4747 www.myspace.com/popssaloon

SCOTTALBERT JOHNSON 7-9:30PM - NO COVER

SONS OFTHE

SUBWAY FEAT. TRAVIS BRAWLEY & ANDREW DILLON

10PM - $6 COVER MONDAY

1/11

OPEN MIC JAM TUESDAY

1/12

MATT’S LATE NIGHT KARAOKE $2 MARGARITAS $1 HIGH LIFE $1 PBR $1 NATURAL LIGHT January 7 - 13, 2010

WEDNESDAY

30

1/13

LADIES NIGHT 214 S. STATE ST. • 601.354.9712 DOWNTOWN JACKSON WWW.MARTINSLOUNGE.NET

JAN. 6, WEDNESDAY Hal & Mal’s - Singer/Songwriter Night: Samantha Clark, Emma Wynters, Anna Kline, Laurel Isbister, Richelle Putnam, Melody Moody & Valley Magee 7-12 a.m.

F. Jones Corner - Stevie J (blues lunch) free Underground 119 - Bill & Temperance (bluegrass) 8-11 p.m.

Fenian’s - Open Mic Contest Winner 9-12 a.m. free Pelican Cove - Karaoke Contest 6-10 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer aa 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Last Call Sports Grill - Karaoke 9 p.m.

Ole Tavern - Karaoke 9 p.m.

The Auditorium - Karaoke 9-12 a.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Rainmaker’s 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Adib 6-9 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Pop’s Saloon - Jordanna Time Out - Shaun Patterson 9 p.m.

Electric Cowboy - Karaoke McB’s - Houseband 7 p.m. free Eli’s Treehouse, V’burg - Karaoke 8 p.m.

JAN. 7, THURSDAY Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Cassandra Wilson Reception/Central Miss.

Blues Society Band 5:30 p.m.

Ole Tavern - DJ Nick 10 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Stevie J (blues lunch) free; Blues at Sunset Challenge Band 5 p.m. free The Auditorium - Larry Brewer 7:30-9 p.m.

Cherokee Inn - D’lo Trio (Americana) 930 Blues Cafe - Jackie Bell, Norman Clark & Smoke Stack Lightning 8 p.m. $5 Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m.

Regency Hotel - Karaoke 7 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Adib 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Andy Hardwick 6-9 p.m.

Poets II - Karaoke 10 p.m.

Castaways - Karaoke 6-10 p.m.

Electric Cowboy - DJ Cadillac (country/dance/rock) 9 p.m.

McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Eli’s Treehouse, V’burg - Karaoke 8 p.m.

JAN. 8, FRIDAY

TOPTEN SONGS THIS WEEK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

PUDDLE OF MUDD - Spaceship THREE DAYS GRACE - Break SLIPKNOT - Snuff SKILLET - Monster MUDVAYNE – Scream With Me SHINEDOWN – If You Only Knew RISE AGAINST - Savior FLYLEAF - Again ATREYU – Storm To Pass CAVO - Crash

Ole Tavern - Zebras; Wolves, Where? (prog-punk) 10 p.m. $5 myspace.com/slazebras F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free; Sherman Lee Dillon’s Miss. Sound w/Hollywood & the Blues Man 11:30-4 a.m. $5 Martin’s - Gunboat (rock) 10 p.m. myspace.com/gunboatms Fenian’s - Bailey Bros (rock/blues) 9-12 a.m. free Underground 119 - Chris Alford Jazz 9-12 a.m.

Fire - Juvenators (blues/rock) 10:30 p.m. $5 McB’s - Buie, Hamman & Porter 7: 30-11:30 p.m.

Soulshine, Township - Jamie Mitchell 8 p.m.

Soulshine, Old Fannin - Bill Able 6:30 p.m.

1/11 1/13-14 1/23 1/27 2/04 2/24

Pelican Cove - The Pates 6-10 p.m.

Haute Pig - Larry Brewer 6-9 p.m.

930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, 9 p.m. $10 Schimmel’s - Dr. D (blues) 6-9 p.m. free Pop’s Saloon - Trey Jewel Kathryn’s - Emma Wynters & Barry Pace 7 p.m.

Electric Cowboy - Bon-Journey (Bon Jovi/Journey tribute) 9 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Adib 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Ralph Miller 6-9 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 9-1 a.m. free Dick & Jane’s - Show Night/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Reed Pierce’s - Monkey Bone Ameristar, V’burg - Dr. Zarr’s Funkmonster 8 p.m.

Silverstar, Choctaw - Three Faces of the King: Bill Cherry, Rick Alviti, Kavan, Jordanaires (‘50s/ ’60s/’70s Elvis Presley’s 75th Birthday Tribute) 8 p.m. $15-$25

JAN. 9, SATURDAY Belhaven Center for the Arts, Riverside Dr - Miss. Symphony Orchestra & Miss. Chorus: Chamber II: Mozart by Candlelight 7:30 p.m. $15 msorchestra.com F. Jones Corner - Stevie J & the Blues Eruption 11:30-4 a.m. $5 Martin’s - Scott Albert Johnson (roots/juke) 7:30-9:30 p.m. free; Sons of the Subway 10 p.m. $6 Underground 119 - Vasti Jackson (blues) 9-12 a.m.

Fire - Juvenators (blues/rock) 10:30 p.m. $5 Ole Tavern - Jackie Bell, Church Keys, Rooster Blues 10 p.m.

McB’s - The Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-11:30 p.m.

Fenian’s - Nekisopaya (jazz fusion) 9-12 a.m. free Pelican Cove - Fulkerson/Pace 6-10 p.m.

Sam’s Lounge - No Lesser Beauty 10 p.m.

930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; 9 p.m. $10 Schimmel’s - Houserockers (blues) 10-2 a.m. $5 myspace.com/ thehouserockers Cultural Expressions - DJ Scrap Dirty, DJ Young Venom, DJ Sketch (hip-hop/Soul) 9 p.m.

Touch Nightclub - DJ 2 Tall 10 p.m. 18+ Electric Cowboy - Bon-Journey (Bon Jovi/Journey tribute) 9 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Chris Gill 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Ralph Miller 6-9 p.m.

Pop’s Saloon - Measure 36 (rock) Dick & Jane’s - House Party/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Warehouse, Hwy 18 - Doug Frank SurRealLife (blues/rock) 9 p.m. www.myspace.com/dougfrankmusic Club Clarion - DJ Koinonia Coffee - Gospoetry 8-12 p.m. $5 Reed Pierce’s - Monkey Bone Pearl Community Room, Old Brandon Rd - Miss. Opry: Harmony & Grits, Long Way to Go 6 p.m. (bluegrass/gospel) $10, under 18 free, 601-331-6672

Midlake - Hi-Tone, Memphis Willie Nelson - House of Blues, N.O.; 1/16 I.P. Casino, Biloxi Los Lobos - MSU Riley Center, Meridian Gov’t Mule - Lyric, Oxford The Residents - Hi-Tone, Memphis Tegan & Sara - Tipitina’s, N.O.

Ameristar, V’burg - Dr. Zarr’s Funkmonster 8 p.m.

JAN. 10, SUNDAY Warehouse - Mike & Marty Open Jam Session 6-10 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - Andy Hardwick (brunch) 11-2 p.m.

Sophia’s, Fairview Inn - Knight Bruce 11 a.m. (brunch) Shucker’s - Rhythm Masters 3-7 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Chris Gill 2-6 p.m.

The Hill - Open Blues Jam 6-11 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 7-11 p.m. free Cultural Expressions - Open Mic Poetry 8 p.m.

Atwood Elks Lodge, Lynch St - Jazz, Blues & More: The Musicians 6:30-8:30 p.m. $5

JAN. 11, MONDAY Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Central Miss.

Blues Society Jam 8-11 p.m. $5 F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) Martin’s - Open Mic 10 p.m. free Fenian’s - Karaoke 8-1 a.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Hunter & Rick 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Ralph Miller 6-9 p.m.

JAN. 12, TUESDAY F. Jones Corner - Jesse “Guitar” Smith (blues lunch) free Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Pub Quiz 8 p.m.

Fenian’s - Open Mic 9 p.m.

Martin’s - Karaoke 10 p.m.

Shucker’s - The Xtremes 7-11 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - Hunter & Rick 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Andy Hardwick 6-9 p.m.

Cafe 101, 101 South St - Open Mic (blues/poetry) 7 p.m. $5, 601353-0434 Ole Tavern - Open Mic 9 p.m.

Time Out - Open Mic 8 p.m.

McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Final Destination - Open Mic

JAN. 13, WEDNESDAY Fenian’s - Open Mic Winner 9-12 a.m. free Pelican Cove - Karaoke Contest 6-10 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free Underground 119 - Virgil Brawley & Steve Chester (blues/rock/ roots) 8-11 p.m. free Shucker’s - DoubleShotz Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Last Call Sports Grill - Karaoke 9 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Chris Gill 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Adib 6-9 p.m.

Ole Tavern - Karaoke The Auditorium - Karaoke 9-12 a.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Time Out - Shaun Patterson Electric Cowboy - Karaoke McB’s - Houseband 7 p.m. free Eli’s Treehouse, V’burg - Karaoke 8 p.m.

venuelist Wednesday, January 6

Cultural Expressions 147 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-665-0815 (neosoul/hip-hop) Cups in Fondren 2757 Old Canton Road, Jackson, 601-362-7422 (acoustic/pop) Cups in the Quarter 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-981-9088 Davidson’s Corner Market 108 W. Center St., Canton, 601-855-2268 (pop/rock) Debo’s 180 Raymond Road, Jackson, 601-346-8283 Diamond Jack’s Casino 3990 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 1-877-711-0677 Dick & Jane’s 206 Capitol St., Jackson, 601-944-0123 (dance/alternative) Dixie Diamond 1306 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6297 Dollar Bills Dance Saloon 103 A Street, Meridian, 601-693-5300 Edison Walthall Hotel 225 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-948-6161 Electric Cowboy 6107 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-899-5333 (country/rock/dance) elixir 4800 1-55 N, Jackson, 601-981-7896 Executive Place 2440 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-987-4014 F. Jones Corner 303 N. Farish St. 601983-1148 Fenian’s 901 E. Fortification Street, Jackson, 601-948-0055 (rock/Irish/folk) Fire 209 Commerce St., Jackson, 601592-1000 (rock/dance/dj) Final Destination 5428 Robinson Rd. Ext., Jackson, (pop/rock/blues) Fitzgerald’s Martini Bar 1001 E. County Line Road, Jackson, 601-957-2800 Flood’s Bar and Grill 2460 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-713-4094

Footloose Bar and Grill 4661 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9944 Freelon’s Bar And Groove 440 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-5357 (hip-hop) Fusion Coffeehouse Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-6001 Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub 6340 Ridgewood Court, Jackson, 601-977-9920 Gold Strike Casino 1010 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, 888-245-7529 Grand Casino Biloxi 280 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, 228-436-2946 Grand Casino Tunica 13615 Old Highway 61 North, Robinsonville, 800-39-GRAND The Green Room 444 Bounds St., Jackson, 601-713-3444 Ground Zero Blues Club 0 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, 662-621-9009 Grownfolks’s Lounge 4030 Medgar Evers Blvd, Jackson, 601-362-6008 Hal & Mal’s 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson, 601-948-0888 (pop/rock/blues) Hamp’s Place 3028 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-981-4110 (dance/dj) Hard Rock Biloxi 777 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 228-374-ROCK Hat & Cane 1115 E. McDowell Rd., Jackson, 601-352-0411 Hauté Pig 1856 Main St., Madison, 601853-8538 Here We Go Again 3002 Terry Road, Jackson, 601-373-1520 The Hill Restaurant 2555 Valley St., Jackson, 601-373-7768 Horizon Casino Mulberry Lounge 1310 Mulberry St., Vicksburg, 800-843-2343 Horseshoe Bar 5049 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-6191 Horseshoe Casino Tunica, 800-303-7463 The Hunt Club 1525 Ellis Ave., Jackson, 601-944-1150 Huntington Grille 1001 E. County Line Rd., Jackson, 601-957-1515 The Ice House 515 S. Railroad Blvd., McComb, 601-684-0285 (pop/rock) JC’s 425 North Mart Plaza, Jackson, 601-362-3108 James Meredith Lounge 217 Griffith St. 601-969-3222 Julep Restaurant and Bar 105 Highland Village, Jackson, 601-362-1411 Kathryn’s Steaks and Seafood 6800 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland. 601956-2803 Koinonia Coffee House 136 S. Adam St., Suite C, Jackson, 601-960-3008 LaRae’s 210 Parcel Dr., Jackson, 601-944-0660 Last Call Sports Grill 3716 I-55 North Frontage Road, Jackson, 601-713-2700 The Library Bar & Grill 120 S. 11th St., Oxford, 662-234-1411 The Loft 1306 A. Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-629-6188 The Lyric Oxford 1006 Van Buren Ave., Oxford. 662-234-5333 Main Event Sports Bar & Grill 4659 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9987 Manda’s Pub 614 Clay Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6607 Martin’s Lounge 214 S. State St., Jackson, 601-354-9712 (rock/jam/blues) McB’s Restaurant 815 Lake Harbor Dr., Ridgeland, 601-956-8362 (pop/rock) Mellow Mushroom 275 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood, 601-992-7499 Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music 103 Magnolia, Edwards, 601-977-7736 Mississippi Coliseum 1207 Mississippi St., Jackson, 601-353-0603 Mississippi Opera P.O. Box 1551, Jackson, 877-MSOPERA, 601-960-2300 Mississippi Opry 2420 Old Brandon Rd., Brandon, 601-331-6672 Mississippi Symphony Orchestra 201 East Pascagoula St., Jackson, 800-898-5050 Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 2531 N. State St., Jackson, 601-354-6021 Monte’s Steak and Seafood 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-8182 Mugshots 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-713-0383 North Jackson Pockets 109 Culley Dr., Jackson, 601- 362-4939 Okasions 1766 Ellis Avenue, Jackson, 601-373-4037

Old Venice Pizza Co. 1428 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-366-6872 Ole Tavern on George Street 416 George St., Jackson, 601-960-2700 Olga’s 4760 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-1366 (piano) One to One Studio 121 Millsaps Ave., in the Millsaps Arts District, Jackson One Blue Wall 2906 N State St., Jackson, 601-713-1224 Peaches Restaurant 327 N. Farish St., Jackson, 601-354-9267 Pelican Cove 3999A Harborwalk Dr., Ridgeland, 601-605-1865 Pig Ear Saloon 160 Weisenberger Rd., Gluckstadt, 601-898-8090 Pig Willies 1416 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-634-6872 Pop’s Saloon 2636 Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-961-4747 (country) Proud Larry’s 211 S. Lamar Blvd., Oxford, 662-236-0050 The Pub Hwy. 51, Ridgeland, 601-898-2225 The Quarter Bistro & Piano Bar 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-4900 Que Sera Sera 2801 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-2520 Red Room 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson (Hal & Mal’s), 601-948-0888 (rock/alt.)

Reed Pierce’s 6791 Siwell Rd., Byram, 601-376-0777, 601-376-4677 Regency Hotel Restaurant & Bar 420 Greymont Ave., Jackson, 601-969-2141 Rick’s Cafe 318 Hwy 82 East, #B, Starkville, 662-324-7425 RJ Barrel 111 N. Union 601-667-3518 Sal and Mookie’s 565 Taylor St. 601368-1919 Sam’s Lounge 5035 I-55 N. Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-983-2526 Sam’s Town Casino 1477 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, 800-456-0711 Schimmel’s Fine Dining 2615 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-7077 Scrooge’s 5829 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-206-1211 Shuckers on the Reservoir 116 Conestoga Rd., Ridgeland, 601-853-0105 Silver Star Casino Hwy. 16 West, Choctaw, 800-557-0711 Soop’s The Ultimate 1205 Country Club Dr., Jackson, 601-922-1402 (blues) Soulshine Pizza 1139 Old Fannin Rd., Brandon, 601-919-2000 Soulshine Pizza 1111 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-8646 Sportsman’s Lodge 1220 E. Northside Dr. at I-55, Jackson, 601-366-5441 Steam Room Grille 5402 Interstate-55 Frontage Road. 601-899-8588 Stone Pony Oyster Bar 116 Commercial Parkway, Canton, 601-859-0801 Super Chikan’s Place 235 Yazoo Ave., Clarksdale, 662-627-7008 Thalia Mara Hall 255 E. Pascagoula St., Jackson, 601-960-1535 Thirsty Hippo 211 Main St., Hattiesburg, 601-583-9188 (indie/alt.rock/jam/world) Time Out Sports Bar 6270 Old Canton Rd., 601-978-1839 Touch Night Club 105 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-969-1110 Two Rivers Restaurant 1537 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-859-9979 (blues) Two Sisters Kitchen 707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180 Two Stick 1107 Jackson Ave., Oxford, 662-236-6639 Tye’s 120 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601949-3434 Under the Boardwalk 2560 Terry Rd., Jackson, 601-371-7332 (country/classic rock) Underground 119 119 S. President St. 601352-2322 VB’s Premier Sports Bar 1060 County Line Rd., Ridgland, 601-572-3989 VFW Post 9832 4610 Sunray Drive, Jackson, 601-982-9925 Vicksburg Convention Center 1600 Mulberry Street, Vicksburg, 866-822-6338 Walker’s Drive-In 3016 N. State St., Jackson, 601-982-2633 (jazz/pop/folk) The Warehouse 9347 Hwy 18 West, Jackson, 601-502-8580 (pop/rock) Wired Expresso Cafe 115 N. State St. 601-500-7800

LADIES NIGHT w/ SNAZZ Ladies’ Cover Free - Guys Cover $5

8:30PM BUY ONE GET ONE Well Drinks

Thursday, January 7

Parking now on side of building

Bike Night w Krazy Karaoke 7:00PM - No Cover

$2 MARGARITAS! Friday, January 8

LIVE MUSIC Saturday, January 9

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm thursday JANUARY 7

LADIES NIGHT

LIVE MUSIC

with DJ NICK!

Exquisite Dining at

WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM

The Rio Grande Restaurant

LADIES DRINK FREE

friday JANUARY 8

Zebras with Wolves, Where? saturday JANUARY 9 400 Greymont Ave., Jackson 601-969-2141 www.regencyjackson.com

WE’VE GOT FOOTBALL ON EVERY GAME DAY! t lunch specials $7.95 - includes tea & desser

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SUN. NFL GAMES ON 20 TVS

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THURS. NCAA GAMES ON 20 TVS

FRI. COLLEGE NIGHT

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w/ Church Keys & Rooster Blues Join Ole Tavern at the MS Blues Marathon 7am-2pm

monday JANUARY 11

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 2 FOR 1 BUD & BUD LIGHT

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tuesday JANUARY 12

OPEN MIC with Cody Cox *DOLLAR BEER*

wednesday JANUARY 13

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61 South - Rainbow Casino 1380 Warrenton Rd., Vicksburg, 800-503-3777 88 Keys 3645 Hwy. 80 W in Metrocenter, Jackson, 601-352-7342 930 Blues Cafe 930 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601-948-3344 Alamo Theatre 333 N. Farish St, Jackson, 601-352-3365 Alley Cats 165 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-855-2225 Alumni House Sports Grill 574 Hwy. 50, Ridgeland, 601-855-2225 America Legion Post 1 3900 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-605-9903 Ameristar Casino, Bottleneck Blues Bar 4146 Washington St., Vicksburg, 800-700-7770 Beau Rivage Casino 875 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 800-566-7469 Belhaven College Center for the Arts 835 Riverside Dr, Jackson, 601-968-5930 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s 111 Colony Crossing, Suite 130, Madison, 601-607-3171 Bennie’s Boom Boom Room 142 Front St., Hattiesburg, 601-408-6040 Borrello’s 1306 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-638-0169 Buffalo Wild Wings 808 Lake Harbour Dr., Ridgeland, 601-856-0789 Capri-Pix Theatre 3021 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-9606 Castaways 135 Madison Landing Circle, Ridgeland, 601-856-1680 (pop/rock) Central City Complex 609 Woodrow Wilson Dr., Jackson, 601-352-9075 Cerami’s 5417 Highway 25, Flowood, 601-919-2829 Char Restaurant 4500 I-55, Highland Village, Jackson, 601-956-9562 Cherokee Inn 1410 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-362-6388 Club 43 Hwy 43, Canton, 601-654-3419, 601-859-0512 Club City Lights 200 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-0059 Club O’Hara 364 Monticello St., Hazlehurst, 601-894-5674 Club Total 342 N. Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-714-5992 The Commons Gallery 719 N. Congress St., 601-352-3399 Couples Entertainment Center 4511 Byrd Drive, Jackson, 601-923-9977 Crawdad Hole 1150 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-982-9299 Crickett’s Lounge 4370 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-0500 Crossroads Bar & Lounge 3040 Livingston Rd., Jackson, 601-984-3755 (blues)

31

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Devil’s Dream

A

t first glance, a novel on the life and times of Nathan Bedford Forrest may seem like a polarizing tale, but in “Devil’s Dream” (Pantheon Books, 2009, $26) Madison Smartt Bell, a Nashville native, weaves an insightful story that reveals two sides of the controversial Confederate lieutenant general, slave trader and skilled cavalryman.

The story follows the triumphs and defeats of Forrest in war and in life.

The action portrays both moral and amoral moments of Forrest’s life. Bell’s Forrest isn’t exactly irresponsible, but he does often throw accountability and responsibility to the wind for better or worse.

Bell’s composition of various Civil War battles is picturesque, whether he’s describing the bucolic countryside of Mississippi (in which much of the novel takes place) or Tennessee. The description of nature remains idyllic throughout, despite the human barbarity of war that invades it.

Many historians have shown that Forrest was a key figure in the Ku Klux Klan’s formation and that he served as the first grand wizard.

Bell’s Forrest acts often in a brutish manner, but “Devil’s Dream” does not so much as mention the KKK until the chronology of Forrest’s life at the end of the book. Rather, much of the story revolves around his life before and during the Civil War. The author presents Forrest as a humble, conflicted family man—and as a godless dragoon bent on cutting down all his enemies. Bell does so deliberately, taking pains to paint Forrest as human, exhibiting both virtue and vice.

Bell uses the fictional character of Henri, a spiritual ancestor of Haitian Revolution leader Toussaint L’ouverture, to provide a third-person account of Forrest. In “Devil’s Dream,” Forrest meets Henri in the dark Kentucky night as the future Confederate hero is mustering forces for the imminent war. Henri, a runaway revolutionary, essentially has no other option than to fight under the Stars and Bars.

Blacks fighting for the South in the Civil War might be hard to fathom, but Forrest did, in fact, offer freedom to any of his slaves who volunteered to fight for him and 45 accepted. An inherent tension between social classes plays heavily into the story, mostly through the separate thoughts of Henri and Forrest.

Henri isn’t the only black to fight under Forrest in “Devil’s Dream”; the characters of Jerry, an older man who cooks for the regiment, and Matthew, a young man whose skin PANTHEON BOOKS

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by Byron Wilkes Signed copies of “Devil’s Dream” are available at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., 601-366-7619.)

is not quite black and not quite white, both fight for the Confederate States of America.

The various auxiliary characters (soldiers, slaves or otherwise) complement Forrest, and many times their stories are absolutely true. Fortunately, Bell’s chronology at the book’s end gives the reader some means to sift fact from fiction.

Catharine is the enslaved maid of the Forrest family, and eventually, Forrest’s mistress. Forrest cannot help but love Catharine, despite his love for his wife, Mary Ann, and the prefabricated racial hierarchy of the 1850s South. Forrest and Catharine’s relationship grows complicated and results in a child who Forrest will come to know well.

The fictitious stories of those closest to Forrest, from his extended family to the slaves bought over the years, intertwine closer than history dictates, but Bell shapes narratives that afford more than simply a dated soap opera; he tells the stories of the region’s grisly past to which many southerners can relate.

Forrest, in reality, is often associated with war crimes, particularly a Confederate attack on unarmed black soldiers at Fort Pillow in Henning, Tenn. The fort was on the Mississippi River, and Bell’s description of the bloody aftermath feels chillingly accurate.

“That slaughterhouse smell was thicker than ever in the back of Henri’s throat. He raised a hand to shade his eyes and saw that it wasn’t only the sun that reddened the river. Thick and viscous as molasses, the Mississippi was running blood as far as he could see,” Bell writes.

An interesting aspect of Bell’s approach to the Civil War era is Henri’s asides to the afterworld, where he becomes cognizant of the Old Ones, who the reader can assume to be the ancient spirits Native Americans believe created the world. These abstractions happen independently of the story and sometimes during the heat of the battle, as when Henri sees the Old Ones directly before an artillery shell bombards Forrest’s horse.

Soldiers, black and white, comprise the inhabitants of this afterworld, and their words provide a frame of reference for their fates. Their destinations shed light on the repercussions of their first lives.

While tenuous at times, Bell manages to give a realistic glimpse of the lives of both blacks and whites during the Civil War. Anyone interested in looking at human interdependencies and disparities of the times should read the somber but telling pages of “Devil’s Dream.”

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Paid advertising advertising section. section. Call Call 601-362-6121 601-362-6121 x11 x1 totolist Paid listyour yourrestaurant.r restaurant.r

High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch and brunch options at Jackson’s vegetarian (and vegan-friendly) restaurant.

Wonderful desserts!

ASIAN OEC (Ridgeland 601-853-4188 and Madison 601-853-8288) Dine in or take out Japanese-style hibachi orders, friend rice, salads or sushi. Hibachi options range from veggies to jumbo shrimp. And it ain’t Japanese in Mississippi without the crawfish roll, right?

Tokyo Express (5050 I-55N 601-957-1558 and 900 E County Line 601-899-8838) Lunch or dinner hibachi orders (chicken, shrimp, steak, scallops) and cooked sushi rolls (snow crab, philly, crawfish, dynamite, titanic) along with fried rice and appetizer.

STIX (109 Marketplace Lane off Lakeland Dr Flowood 601-420-4058) Enjoy the quick-handed, knife-wielding chefs at the flaming teppanyaki grill; artful presentations of sushi; the pungent seasonings and spicy flavors of regional Chinese cuisines.

Open Saturday, Jan 9th for the Mississippi Blues Marathon

“Best Take Out” winner Best of Jackson 2009

COFFEE HOUSES

BAKERS

Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local chain of coffeehouses offer high-end Arabica beans, a wide variety of espresso drinks, fresh brewed coffee and a selection of pastries and baked goods. Free wi-fi!

Wired Espresso Café (115 N State St 601-500-7800) This downtown coffeehouse across from the Old Capitol focuses on being a true gathering place, featuring great coffee and a selection of breakfast, lunch and pastry items. Free wi-fi.

Now with TWO locations to better serve you

BAKERY Broad Street (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) Hot breakfast, coffee espresso drinks, fresh breads and pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches, quiches, soups, pizzas, pastas and dessert. A “see and be seen” Jackson institution!

Campbellʼs Bakery (3013 N State St 601-362-4628) Cookies, cakes and cupcakes are accompanied by good coffee and a full-cooked Southern breakfast on weekdays in this charming bakery in Fondren.

Crazy Cat Bakers (Highland Village Suite #173 601-362-7448 & Fondren Corner Bldg) The amazing lunch sandwiches include: Meatloaf Panini, Mediterranean Vegetarian, Rotisserie Chicken to gourmet pimento cheese. The outlandish desserts are: to die for. Now open in the Fondren Corner Building on North State Street.

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LUNCH: MON.-FRI., 10AM-2PM

ITALIAN Basilʼs Belhaven (904 E. Fortification, Jackson, 601-352-2002) The signature Paninis are complimented by great Italian offerings such as spaghetti and meatball, tomato basil soup, cookies and cupcakes. Dinner menu includes fresh tilapia, shrimp and risotto, seafood pasta, generous salads—and don’t forget the crab cakes. Party menu includes a “panini pie.” BYOB.

BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Wood-fired pizzas, vegetarian fare, plus creative pastas, beef, and seafood specials. Wonderful atmosphere and service. Voted Best Wine Selection and Best Chef in 2009, Bravo! walks away with tons of awards every year.

See Us Come kfast! a e r B r o F

7AM -10AM

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601-352-2364 • Fax: 601-352-2365 Hours: Monday - Friday 7am - 6pm

Ceramiʼs (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298) Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami (white wine sauce, capers artichokes) along with veal, tilapia, crawfish, chicken and pasta dishes. Now with liquor license!

Fratesiʼs (910 Lake Harbour, Ridgeland, 601-956-2929)

BARBEQUE Hickory Pit Barbeque (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The “Best Butts in Town” features BBQ chicken, beef and pork sandwiches along with burgers and po’boys. Wet or dry pork ribs, chopped pork or beef, and all the sides.

Lumpkins BBQ (182 Raymond Rd. Jackson 866-906-0942) Specializing in smoked barbeque, Lumpkin’s offers all your favorites for on-site family dining or for catered events, including reunions, office events, annivesaries, weddings and more.

DINE LOCAL, see pg. 34

a Th

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ou Y k

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Best Butts In Town! since 1980

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1491 Canton Mart Rd. • Jackson

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“Authentic, homey, unpretentious” that’s how the regulars describe Fratesi’s, a staple in Jackson for years, offering great Italian favorites with loving care. The tiramisu is a must-have!

33

“Home of the Best Brisket in Jackson”

Paid advertising section.

Rib Shack B.B.Q. & Seafood (932 J.R. Lynch Street, Jackson, 601-665-4952) Hickory-smoked BBQ beef or pork ribs, BBQ chicken, giant chopped BBQ beef or pork sandwiches. Fried catfish, pan trout, fried shrimp, po boys. Tues-Thurs (11-8pm) Fri-Sat (11-10pm).

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A metro-area tradition since 1977 Dinner Hours: Lunch Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-2pm

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BARS, PUBS & BURGERS Alumni House (574 Hwy 51 Ridgeland 601-605-9903, 110 Bass Pro, Pearl, 601-896-0253) Good bar food, big portions and burgers (with “blackened” as an option) known for their sweet buns. Televisions throughout, even small tubes at your table. Po-boys, quesadillas; good stuff!

Fenianʼs Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches and beers including Guinness and Harp on tap. Free live music most nights; Irish/Celtic bands on Thursdays.

Cool Alʼs (4654 McWillie, 601-713-3020) A standard in Best of Jackson, Al’s stacked, messy, decadent, creative burgers defy adjectives.

Or try pineapple chicken, smoked sausage...or the nationally recognized veggie burger.

Fitzgeralds at the Hilton (1001 East County Line Road, 601-957-2800) Bar favorites with a Gulf Coast twist like Gumbo Ya Ya, Shrimp Cocktail and Pelahatchie artisan sausage and cheese antipasto. Plus grilled oysters, tournedos of beef, chicken pontabla and of course the fried stuff—oysters, catfish, shrimp, seafood or chicken. Did we mention the bar?

Hammontreeʼs RJ Barrel (N Union St, Canton 601-667-3518) Americana at its best. Sandwiches, BBQ, and kids running around the Canton Square. Don’t miss the homemade crust for pizza and calzones, however. Nice beer selection, too.

Hal and Malʼs (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or each day’s blackboard special. Repeat winner of Best of Jackson’s “Best Place for Live Music.”

Last Call (3716 I-55 N. Frontage Road 601-713-2700) Burgers, sandwiches and po-boys, plus sports-bar appetizers and specialities. Try chili cheese fries, chicken nachos or the shrimp & pork eggrolls. Pay-per-view sporting events, live bands.

Martinʼs Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers (jalapeno poppers, cheezsticks, fried pickles) or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, massive beer selection and live music most nights.

Ole Tavern (416 George St. 601-960-2700) Pub food with a southern flair: beer-battered union rings, chicken & sausage gumbo, salads, sandwiches and weekly lunch specials. Plus, happy hour 4-7pm Monday through Friday.

Poets II (In the Quarter on Lakeland Drive 601-364-9411) The legend is back!Pub fare, drink specials, karaoke every Thursday night and live bands on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Mon-Sat., 3 p.m. - 2 a.m.

Shuckerʼs Oyster Bar (116 Conestoga Road, Ridgeland 601-853-0105) Serious about oysters? Try ‘em on the half shell, deep-fried, charred from the oven or baked in champagne. Plus po-boys, pub favorites, burgers, mufalettas, pizza, seafood and steaks!

Sportsmanʼs Lodge (1120 E Northside Dr in Maywood Mart 601-366-5441) Voted Best Sports Bar, Sportman’s doesn’t disappoint with plenty of gut-pleasing sandwiches, and fried seafood baskets. Try the award-winning wings in Buffalo, Thai or Jerk sauces!

The Regency (400 Greymont Ave. 601-969-2141) Reasonably priced buffet Monday through Friday featuring all your favorites. Daily happy hour, live bands and regular specials.

Time Out Sports Café (6720 Old Canton Road 601-978-1839) 14 TVs, 1 projector and two big-screens. Daily $9 lunch specials, pub-style appetizers, burgers, seafood and catfish po-boys, salads, and hot entrees including fish, steak and pasta.

Pelican Cove Grill (3999A Harbor Walk Drive 601-605-1865) Great rez view! Shrimp and seafood appetizers, soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches, plus po-boys, catfish baskets, and dinners from the grill including mahi-mahi and reggae ribs.

Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Jumbo lump crabcakes, crab quesadillas, beef tenderloin parfaits, orange-garlic shrimp, even “lollipop” lamb chops. Add a full bar and mix in great music. Opens 4 p.m.-until, Wed-Sat.

January 7 - 13, 2010

SOUTHERN CUISINE

34

The Auditorium (622 Duling Ave. 601-982-0002) Sweet Potato Crawfish Cakes, shrimp & grits, fried green tomatos, creole seafood pasta, catfish, shrimp and combo platters, Mississippi cavier salad, babyback ribs with sweet potato fries and cole slaw. Even a veggie plate! Full bar, movie nights and music on the Peavey Stage.

Julep (1305 East Northside Drive, Highland Village, 601-362-1411) Tons of Best of Jackson awards, delicious Southern fusion dishes like award-winning fried chicken, shrimp and grits, blackened tuna and butter bean hummus. Brunch, lunch, dinner and late night.

Primos Cafe (515 Lake Harbour 601-898-3400 and 2323 Lakeland 601-936-3398) A Jackson institution featuring a full breakfast (with grits and biscuits), blue plate specials, catfish, burgers, prime rib, oysters, po-boys and wraps. Save room for something from the bakery.

DINE LOCAL, from pg. 33

Paid advertising section.

Sunioraʼs Sidewalk Cafe (200 South Lamar Street 601-355-1955) Homecooking, soul food, buffet and pizza for lunch in downtown Jackson. Soup and salad bar every day, plus daily lunch specials. “Mama’s in the kitchen!” Mon-Fri, 11am-2pm.

Sugarʼs Place (168 W Griffith St 601-352-2364) Hot breakfast and weekday lunch: catfish, pantrout, fried chicken wings, blue plates, red beans & rice, pork chops, chicken & dumplings, burgers, po-boys...does your grandma cook like this?

The Strawberry Café (107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822) Full table service, lunch and dinner. Crab and crawfish appetizers, salads, fresh seafood, pastas, “surf and turf” and more. Veggie options. Desserts include cheesecake, Madison Mud and strawberry shortcake from scratch!

Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) Best of Jackson winner for fried chicken (year after year after year) offers a sumptious buffet of your choice of 6-8 veggies, a salad bar, iced tea & one of three homemade desserts. Lunch only.

M-F 11-2, Sun. 10:30-2.

Telephone:

601-665-4952 For the sizzling taste of real hickory smoke barbeque -

Serving: H OT P ASTA D ISHE G RILLED F ISH P ANINI S ANDWICH

THIS IS THE PLACE! B.B.Q., Blues, Beer, Beef & Pork Ribs Saturday & Friday Night Blues Band Coming Soon!

En

from the Belhaven bakery

Mon. - Thurs., 11am - 8:30pm | Fri. & Sat. 11am - 9pm 904B E. Fortification St. - English Village

Call Us: 601-352-2002

Lunch & Dinner Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 11a.m. to 8p.m.

Friday & Saturday 11a.m. to 10p.m.

932 Lynch Street in Jackson (Across from the JSU Baseball Field)

FINE DINING Huntington Grille at the Hilton (1001 East County Line Road 601--957-1515) Chef Luis Bruno offers fresh Gulf seafood, unique game dishes and succulent steaks alongside an expansive wine selection; multiple honors from Best of Jackson, Wine Specator and others.

Schimmelʼs (2615 N. State St. 601-981-7077) Creative southern fusion dishes at attractive prices make the atmosphere that mush more enticing. New appetizer menu, “Martini Night Football” and others bar specials for football season!

Steam Room Grille (5402 I-55 North 601--899-8588) Great seafood featuring steamed lobster, crab, shrimp and combo patters. Grilled specialities include shrimp, steaks, and kabobs. Fresh fish fried seafood, lunch menu, catering, live music.

MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EASTERN Aladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033) Distinct, casual elegant dining. Delicious authentic dishes, made from scratch, including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma and much more. Consistent award winner, great for takeout or for long evenings with friends.

Jerusalem Café (2741 Old Canton Road 601-321-8797) Yes, it’s a hookah bar in Jackson, which also happens to have a great Meditterean menu, including falafel, lamb shank, feta salad, kabob, spinach pie, grape leaves and baba ghanouj.

Meet fellow Jackson creatives in Sal + Mookie’s Pi(e) Lounge Thursday, January 14th 6 - 10 PM FREE entry and munchies!

PIZZA The Pizza Shack (1220 N State St. 601-352-2001) 2009’s winner of Best Pizza offers the perfect pizza-and-a-beer joint. Creative pizza options abound (“Cajun Joe, anyone?”), along with sandwiches, wings, salads and even BBQ. Sal & Mookieʼs (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant parmesan and the local favorite: fried ravioli. Voted Best Chef, Best Kid’s Menu and Best Ice Cream in the 2009 Best of Jackson reader poll.

CARRIBBEAN Taste of the Island (436 E. Capitol, Downtown, 601-360-5900) Jerk chicken or ribs, curry chicken or shrimp, oxtails, snapper or goat, plus bok choy, steamed cabbage and Jamaican Greens, Carry out, counter seating or delivery available. 11a-7p.

VEGETARIAN See “High Noon Cafe” on page 33.

Community Driven...

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Coffee Obsession

35

sports

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January 7 - 13, 2010

Open Mic Contest w/ A Guy Named George

36

(Win a paid gig at Fenian’s)

Will this season become University of Kentucky coach John Calipari’s fourth appearance at the Final Four?

E

thical standards in college athletics are plummeting. The BCS is a cartel. NBA age requirements are leading to corruption in college basketball. How much longer will fans tune in to the booster-driven world of premier athletic programs?

Sooner or later, real punishments will be handed out (dropping ratings, congressional intervention). But I thought it would be more interesting to hand out punishments in the style of Dante’s “Inferno.” For instance, Dante sentenced adulterers Paolo and Francesco to kiss for eternity.

I have narrowed my focus to egregious crimes against Sport, but I could have considered crimes against Reason. After watching their Dec. 28 press conference, I believe that University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Jeremy Foley will be in an eternal lip-lock in the afterlife, but that’s not for me to contemplate right now.

Southern Methodist Football In 1987, the NCAA handed the “death penalty” to Southern Methodist’s football program, suspending the program for a year, crippling the SMU football program.

SMU returned to the field in the early 1990s but went without a bowl game until the Hawaii Bowl last month. Head coach June Jones turned a 3-9 team into a 7-5 team within two years of being hired. SMU defeated the favored Nevada Wolfpack with a backup quarterback at the helm, 45-10.

This is a story of redemption; I hope that after 25 years of losing seasons, SMU makes its 26th season one to remember.

Big 12 Coaches In September 1954, “Bear” Bryant subjected his players to a torturous training camp in southwest Texas. That Texas A&M team fell apart, but later became the foundation for a 1956 conference championship, a book and a made-for-television movie. His actions don’t seem as heroic in the wake of congressional hearings and the death of Minnesota Vikings player Korey Stringer in 2001.

In the Southwest Conference’s successor, the Big 12, Kansas’ Mark Mangino was let go after assaulting and verbally abusing players. Texas Tech’s Mike Leach was fired for allegedly locking Adam James in an electrical closet.

If they don’t wind up in electrical closets, I can only hope that at least Mangino and Leach will find positions just as professionally confining.

Kentucky Basketball In 1952, the NCAA hit Kentucky’s basketball team with the “death penalty” for point shaving. They recovered quickly and won another NCAA title in 1958. In 1989, the program almost got the penalty again, under coach Eddie Sutton. Sutton was fired, and Rick Pitino rebuilt the team.

Kentucky is back at the roulette table after hiring John Calipari, who has the dubious honor of having had three Final Four appearances vacated.

The administration’s blind hunger for success reminds me of a figure in Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights,” a greedy hoarder who sh*ts out gold. Kentucky’s punishment will be grabbing great recruits, and watching them play disinterestedly during the March tournament, before subsequently bailing for the NBA every April.

Alabama Football The University of Alabama’s football program came within a hair of getting the death penalty in 2002, after a booster allegedly gave $50,000 to a coach to encourage a recruit to join the Roll Tide. Since then, coaches have come and gone.

Many fans consider the hiring of Nick Saban a brilliant move. But his football acumen and recruiting prowess haven’t been able to stem the corruption within the program. If the NCAA upholds a current sanction, Alabama would have to vacate 21 wins.

Soon, the unholy union between Saban and the Alabama boosters will be exposed for what it is: a co-dependent marriage in the mold of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. In the meantime, they get to play for the BCS National Championship.

The NCAA Last September, the NCAA definitively lost its moral high ground. In a study of probation penalties imposed by the NCAA, the Michael L. Buckner Law Firm found that historically black colleges and mid-majors receive tougher restrictions than major D-1 schools.

The allegations confirm what many fans have assumed: Powerhouse schools have systematic advantages, and larger budgets.

The association seems incapable of responding to problems, and I don’t mean the lack of a playoff. It has never considered stipulating that individual conferences and schools consider minority candidates. The NCAA allows bowl committees to make baffling and insulting selections.

In the NCAA’s place, we need a body that holds schools accountable for more than eligibility fraud. It would be a regulatory body that held the entire system to a higher standard.

Finally, it too receives the “death penalty.”

Doctor S: College hoops conference play arrives with some big-time matchups.

THURSDAY, JAN. 7 Women’s college basketball, Vanderbilt at Mississippi State (8 p.m., Starkville, CSS): The Lady Bulldogs (10-4) play their SEC home opener.

FRIDAY, JAN. 8 College basketball, Southwestern at Millsaps (6 p.m., women, and 8 p.m., men): Millsaps plays host to a SCAC doubleheader.

SATURDAY, JAN. 9 Men’s college basketball, Mississippi State at Ole Miss (12:30 p.m., Oxford, Ch. 12, 105.9 FM, 97.3 FM): Who thinks it’s a good idea for archrivals to meet in the first SEC game of the season? Nobody. … Memphis at Southern Miss (7 p.m., CSS, 103.3 FM): The Tigers might not be MEMPHIS anymore, but they have more than enough for the Eagles. … Jackson State at Alcorn State (7:30 p.m., Lorman, 620 AM): The Tigers invade the Scalping Grounds. … NFL football, wild-card playoffs, with the New York Jets at Cincinnati (3:30 p.m., Ch. 3).

SUNDAY, JAN. 10 Women’s college basketball, Tennessee at Mississippi State (1 p.m., Starkville, Ch. 12-digital): The Lady Bulldogs are still looking for their first victory—ever—against the Lady Vols. ... NFL football, wild-card playoffs, Baltimore at New England (noon, Ch. 12) … Green Bay at Arizona (3:30 p.m., Ch. 40): The Packers and Cardinals meet again.

MONDAY, JAN. 11 Men’s college basketball, Dallas at Millsaps (7 p.m., Jackson): Will purple reign at The Hangar?

TUESDAY, JAN. 12 Men’s college basketball, Louisiana College at Mississippi College (7:30 p.m., Clinton): Baptists do battle beneath the Golden Dome.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13 Men’s college basketball, Ole Miss at Georgia (7 p.m., Athens, Ga., Ch. 12, 97.3 FM): Athens is a tough place to play. Like every place in the SEC. The Slate is compiled by your friendly Doctor S. Your sports haven is JFP Sports at www.jacksonfreepress.com.

BY MATT JONES

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “You are what you love, not what loves you,” says the character Charlie Kaufman in the film, “Adaptation” (Kaufman is played by Nicolas Cage, who has three planets in Capricorn.) I urge you to work hard to make that perspective your own, Capricorn. Ideally, it will become a permanent addition to your philosophy of life. But please, at least try to install it as your primary words to live by for the next three weeks. To do so will smooth out a distortion in your energy field, making it easier for people to love you.

I suspect you have to go down into the underworld for a while. But you have a choice about how it will play out. You shouldn’t wait for some random goblin to come along and pull you down into the miserable abyss. Instead, be proactive. Shop around for a more useful abyss––a womb-like pit with half-decent accommodations and a good learning environment––and go there under your own power. That way you won’t have to slog your way through musty fogs and creepy pests and slimy muck. You’ll keep your suffering to a minimum and attract adventures that are more intriguing than demoralizing.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When my acupuncturist pushes a needle into my chest, my feet sometimes twitch involuntarily. A jab in my earlobe can cause my hand to leap off the table; when she pokes the bridge of my nose, my liver may throb. The lesson for me is that parts of the body are linked in ways that aren’t obvious. I invite you to expand this principle as you use it to evaluate the interconnections between different areas of your life.

How do your attitudes about love affect your ability to attract money? (And vice versa.) Are there any ways in which your capacity for happiness is affected by your political views? How do your judgments about other people impact your physical health? More than even you farseeing Pisceans imagine, everything’s linked to everything.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to my reading of the astrological omens, it’ll be a hair-on-fire kind of week for you––and yet also a heart-in-repose kind of week. In other words, you have the potential to be fierce and relaxed, vigorously ambitious and sublimely poised. In fact, this might be one of those rare times when you can be both a justice-dispensing warrior and an enlightenment-seeking magician. Want to turn water into wine when the pressure’s on? Find the pearl of great price in the heat of the battle? Feats like these are quite possible.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Can you pull off a mid-course correction while hurtling through the air across a chasm during a leap of faith?

If anyone is capable of such a feat, you are. However, I’d prefer it if that wasn’t necessary. I’d rather see you prepare a little better, like by procuring the help you need to create a safety net or sturdy bridge that will stretch across the chasm. Or by getting one of those jet packs to strap across your back and allow you to fly. Or by taking as much guesswork as possible out of the details about how you’re going to get from the edge of one cliff to the edge on the other side.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): This is one of those rare times when you can get abundant access to insider secrets, unauthorized information, taboo knowledge and forbidden wisdom.

Proceed carefully. As much as I’m an advocate of you getting to the whole truth and nothing but the truth, it’s also my duty to remind you that it could be disruptive to find out all of the truth in one big swoop.

You should ask yourself if you’re fully prepared to change what needs to be changed once the previously hidden stuff emerges. If you’re not, it might be better to wait until you are.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Which metropolitan areas in America have the most brainpower? Not the best sports teams or the richest businessmen or the most powerful politicians, but the smartest people? “The Daily Beast” did a study and declared that the top two were the Raleigh-Durham

area in North Carolina and the San Francisco Bay area. Now it so happens that those are the two places where I’ve spent much of my adult life. It doesn’t mean I’m brilliant, but it does suggest I have an instinct for knowing where the brilliant people congregate. And I’m quite sure that they have been a very good influence on me. My recommendation to you in 2010, Cancerian, is to cultivate this knack. Gravitate toward genius. Surround yourself with deep thinkers and innovative dreamers. Hang out in the vicinity of brainstorms.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “The more you complain,” says an old adage, “the longer God lets you live.” If that’s true, I hope you will be adding many years to your lifespan in the coming week. Would you like to live to the age of 100? There are many rich and colorful opportunities for you to lodge protests right now. You have cosmic permission to rouse a ruckus in the name of improving the way everything works. But try to concentrate on constructive criticism that really helps transform what’s stuck.

The Divine Wow is more likely to give credit for that approach than for mere narcissistic grousing.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A reader calling herself Rebellioness collaborated with me to come up with five revolutionized approaches to the art of rebellion. I present them here for your use, as they identify the kinds of behavior that will be most nurturing for you to cultivate in the coming weeks: 1. Experimenting with uppity, mischievous optimism; 2. Invoking insurrectionary levels of wildly interesting generosity; 3. Indulging in an insolent refusal to be chronically fearful; 4. Pursuing a cheeky ambition to be as wide-awake as a dissident young messiah; 5. Bringing reckless levels of creative intelligence to all expressions of love.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I want to tell you about Harj, a character in Douglas Coupland’s novel “Generation A.” He’s an enterprising young Sri Lankan man who sells “celebrity room tones” over the Internet. Each hour-long recording purports to convey the sound of the silence that pervades the homes of luminaries like Mick Jagger and Cameron Diaz when they’re not there. I think that you Libras are now primed to learn from Harj’s example.

Like him, you have the power to capitalize on nothingness and absence and emptiness.

“You Want Fries With That?”—some people do.

Across 1 “It’s A Wonderful Life” director Frank 6 Effects used in computer-animated movies, for short 9 Vulcan, e.g.

12 Ultraliberal’s place on the political spectrum 14 Actress Elizabeth of “Nothing Like the Holidays” 16 Olympics chant 17 Garnish that some upscale fries at Chicago restaurant mk are served with 19 Wedding rental 20 Heart monitor readout, for short (var.)

21 Miss America wear 22 Filled Jewish delicacy 24 Garden pest 26 Ingredient served with fries and brown gravy in the Canadian dish poutine 30 Inventor Jethro and namesakes 32 Abbr. after a lawyer’s name 33 Get up 34 Sounding like a sheep 37 Little Labrador 39 Sensed 40 Condiment most often used by the Dutch with their fries 43 “This guy walks into ___...”

46 Dog at the end of “Family Ties” credits 47 Scheme

50 Former Portland Trail Blazer RamÛn 52 “Supernanny” network 54 Leather sharpener used in oldtimey barber shops 56 Seasoning option for fries at the Japanese fast food restaurant First Kitchen 60 Stash away money 61 Cub Scout symbol of wisdom 62 Scantron answer, perhaps 64 Dizzy Gillespie’s genre 65 Boxing maneuver 67 Fast food dessert that some kids insist on dipping their fries in 70 Nighttime bird 71 Read retinas 72 Pashto speakers 73 “___, ya think?”

74 Gp. that regulates carry-on luggage 75 Like a chimney sweep’s clothes

©2009 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute.

Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-6556548. Reference puzzle #0441.

Last Week’s Answers

Down 1 Group that specializes in Model Ts or T-Birds, e.g.

2 Rich, peppery salad green 3 Militant gp. that opposed the Oslo Accords 4 Football field figures 5 Insurance co. with a duck mascot 6 EMT’s skill 7 Tech support subsidiary of Best Buy 8 Foolish 9 “Alice’s Restaurant” singer Arlo

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A guy I know broke up with his girlfriend recently. He used a time-honored strategy: making it sound as if he wasn’t worthy of her. “It’s like you’re a grandmaster at a chess tournament,” he told her, “while I just got my first checkerboard and am still figuring out how to play checkers.” He was implying that she was much more skillful than he was in the arts of relationship. I have a feeling that there’s a situation like this in your world, Scorpio––an alliance in which the two parties are at different levels of maturity. I’m not necessarily saying you should sever the connection, but you should at least acknowledge the gap and decide what to do about it.

BY MATT JONES

Last Week’s Answers

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In a million years, I would never authorize you to unleash your naked greed and give it unconditional license to careen through the world gobbling and acquiring and appropriating. However, due to an odd blip in the astrological configurations, I am at liberty to give you permission to unleash your discerning, elegant greed and grant it a temporary dispensation to sample more than usual of anything that captivates your ravenous imagination.

Thousands of amazing, inexplicable, even miraculous events occur every day. Report yours: http://bit.ly/ Amazement.

“Kakuro” Fill in each square in this grid with a digit from 1 to 9. The sum of the digits in each row or column will be the little number given just to the left of or just above that row or column. As with a Sudoku, you can’t repeat any digits in a row or column.

See the row of three squares in the upper-center of the grid with a 21 to the left of it? That means the sum of the digits in those three squares will be 21, and they won’t repeat any digits. A row or column ends at a black square, so the two-square row in the upper-right with a 13 to the left of it may or may not have digits in common with the 21-row to its left; they’re considered different rows because there’s a black square between them. Down columns work the same way. Now solve!!

jacksonfreepress.com

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

10 Sch. with a branch in Tulsa 11 Actor Shepard of “Baby Mama” 12 Analysis named after statistician Sir Ronald Fisher 13 “Worship at Red Rocks” musician John 15 Insurance company headquartered in Rhode Island 18 Navajo police detective Jim in a Tony Hillerman series 23 Overabundances 25 Genre for Gary Glitter 27 “Around the Horn” network 28 Internet connection via landline 29 Jazz band’s playlist 31 “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine” singer 35 Director Jim Jarmusch’s grad school alma mater 36 Lose one’s marbles 38 Comedy staple that goes “splat” 41 Worn-down pencils 42 Reptilian warning 43 Story line’s path 44 Scrooge’s kvetch 45 Friendly 48 Reaches for 49 MSNBC anchor Monica 51 Twists around 53 Perfume company with fragrances from BeyoncÈ and Jennifer Lopez 55 Diarist Samuel 57 Put in office 58 “Major” constellation 59 Cocoa ___ (cereal brand) 63 Therefore 65 Exercise in the park 66 Reverent feeling 68 The tiniest bit of evidence?

69 “Now I’ve got it!”

37

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BUSINESS OPPS Unemployed? Join My Team!

Endless Passions is looking for passion party consultants to work FT/PT. Call or submit application online @ www.infinite expectations.com (601) 918-2458 (601) 918-2458 SERVICES Home Cleaning dixiedivascleaningservice.com COMPUTER $199 Web Design Four pages only $199 for a personal site. Contact us about our specials! 90 day guarantee.

(601) 941-8866 VOLUNTEER Volunteers Needed Virtual Volunteers needed for DV Helpline e-mail k.anderson@dahmw.org Can volunteer from home CHILDCARE Need A Babysitter In the surrounding Jackson Area Just for a few hours or a couple of days I will come sit for you.

I am available Mon - Fri. 6: 30 pm - until *Saturday 8am - until*Sunday 1:30 pm - until My sitting fee : $10 hour single child $2 for each additional child Short Notice Welcomed call Sheena (601) 316-2535 CLEANING Christian Cleaning Service We clean Houses & Offices.

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PETS Bassett hounds red and white bassett hounds mom and dad available for viewing 200.00 contact (601) 918-9891

71 vw super beetle, $1400 Driven daily, fairly complete and original. 1600cc engine, 34pict-3, Bosch 009. New windshield, am/fm cassette.

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AUDIO, VIDEO, AND CAMERA 3rd gen. Ipod shuffle $45 never opened. Includes: 3rd generation green ipod shuffle, earphones, & dock in original sealed packaging. pinksylk82@tmo.blackberry.net if interested

HOUSING WANTED NEED HOUSE Need rental house in Ridgeland, Ms. Have HUD voucher. Will take care of property. Have references from previous landlord. 601-919-9157

WANTED Old Drums Wanted!

I will buy your old drums, snares and cymbals.. The older the better ( Ludwig, Rogers, Slingerland, and Gretsch).

Knock the dust off them and call. (601) 622-7782 CARS/TRUCKS Solara Convertible 2006 Beautiful car needs a good home: Convertible Solara, red with black top/black and silver interiors; automatic with shift option transmission; 6 CD changer/cassette; two new tires; new wiper blades and a few extras (car cover, windshield reflector, etc.).

This car is my baby but I am moving overseas; just selling it for what I owe on it. It runs great, has a great sound system and has been maintained well (maintenance history available).

Asking for 17,000 obo. Call Edwin at 361-658-8142 or email ampithoe1@yahoo.com

Dennis Montgomery, head of a small software company in Reno, Nev., duped the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security into believing he could decode secret messages from al-Qaida to its operatives sent via television. Playboy magazine, citing former CIA officials, reported that the Bush administration raised the terrorism alert level and canceled several transatlantic flights in December 2003 after Montgomery claimed bar codes on Al Jazeera TV contained targeting information for al-Qaida attacks. The CIA eventually concluded there were no secret messages after French intelligence convinced the agency that the bar codes were bogus.

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE $1000s Below Market Value Homes For Sale $1000s Below Market Value!!! Looking for Investment Property? Call Travia 601-503-6070 Contractors Special 234 Keener Ave, 3 BR / 1 BA Fixer Upper, Owner Financing or Cash Dis, $500 Dn, $171 a mo, 1-803254-0474

Kids Today Police investigating a fire in Clearwater, Fla., that extensively damaged a single-family home and sent homeowner Nancy Broadhead, 47, to the hospital with serious burns ,arrested the woman’s 11-year-old daughter and the daughter’s 15-year-old boyfriend, Jack Ault. They said the kids doused the mother’s bed with gasoline while she slept, plotting “to basically set the mom on fire and leave her to die,” police official Beth Watts said. Watts identified the motive as “teenage angst,” which escalated when the mom “confronted the daughter about stealing some of her cigarettes.” The St. Petersburg Times added that police charged Ault with stealing Broadhead’s car, in which the children fled after the fire. “I thought I had seen everything,”

RENTALS Fondren: Apartment 2/1 2 Bedroom, 1 bath, upstairs apartment; Rear parking. $495 per month; deposit and references. Avl. Nov. 1. (601) 982-8005 ROOMMATES Roommate Wanted I have a room for rent in the south jackson area. Rent would be 425.00 all utilities included.

Must not do drugs! (601) 2136680 Searching for Belhaven Roomy!

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Pinellas-Pasco Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett told the newspaper. “Just when you think you have, here comes along something like this.”

Photoshop Politics For a photo contest held in conjunction with December’s Copenhagen climate talks, Canada’s opposition Liberal Party posted on its web site a submission showing a doctored photo of Lee Harvey Oswald being shot in which Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s face was substituted for Oswald’s.

Another posting showed Harper with his fist in a cow’s rectum, which the site presented as one of the “best seven” depicting where Harper would rather be than in Copenhagen.

Reuters reported the postings were quickly removed and an apology issued by party official Mario Lague.

Guilt-Free Pleasures An Irish company introduced the world’s first “green technology sex toy.”

Janice O’Connor, the co-founder of Caden Enterprises, described the 8-inch Earth Angel as a wind-up vibrator with a handle built into the bottom. “You just flip out the handle, grab a hold of it there, and you just wind it,” O’Connor told Agence France-Presse. “So for four minutes of doing that, you should generate enough power to give you 30 minutes of full-on, right-to-the-top vibrations.”

Besides needing no batteries, Earth Angel, which sells for $100, is made from 100 percent recyclable materials.

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