v8n29 - JFP GOOD Issue: Good Spaces

Improving Your Environment Outdoor, Indoor, at Work, in the Classroom & More JFP Interns, p. 14

Vol. 8 | No. 29 // April 1 - 7, 2010

One Lake: TobyMac, A Better Alternative? The Interview Lynch, p. 12

FREE

DAILY BREAKING NEWS @ JFPDAILY.COM

Jacome, p 36

TEA FOR TOTS LADIES BRUNCH benefiting The Mustard Seed Friday, April 23rd At the home of Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Grenfell at Annandale Golf Club

April 1 - 7, 2010

$10.00 per person

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Champagne Brunch, Silent Auction, Easy Entertaining Displays and a Draw Down for a Trip to the 2011 SEC Championship Football Game For tickets, visit The Mustard Seed, Chandelier, www.mcalistersdelicares.com or call 601.613.8648

jacksonian

The soft-spoken, polite 60-year-old man enjoyed his homemade vanilla ice cream at the Fourth of July picnic in Crystal Springs. With his wry smile and informal stance, it was easy to see him as a former pastor. I had no idea when I met him two years ago that this avid runner is the president and chief executive officer of Voice of Calvary Ministries.

A transplant from Anderson, Ind., Reed is passionate about his home of 35 years where he and his wife, Marsha, have raised three children. Reed served as pastor at Voice of Calvary Ministries from 1976 to 1999. He and Marsha have stayed in Jackson at a time when it was popular for white families to move to the suburbs.

“Jackson is really changing; we are really growing as a city. Part of that is the re-opening of the King Edward Hotel, but it is other things, too. We have really done a lot in terms of racial reconciliation,” he says.

Part of that change stems from organizations like Voice of Calvary Ministries. Working with Mission Mississippi and Habitat for Humanity, in the past 25 years the ministry has helped rebuild more than 200 homes. Using a holistic approach, they strive to provide the communities of Jackson with the services and supports needed to help neighborhoods become sustainable.

Voice of Calvary Ministries is currently

WRIJOYA ROY

phil reed working on a pilot program in south Jackson with Village and Commonwealth Apartments to bring 460 families above the poverty level. Voice of Calvary has also purchased nine houses in the Alta Woods subdivision and has contracts to restore four more. Habitat for Humanity will also work in the area.

“By partnering with Habitat for Humanity, we can all work and have a bigger impact on the neighborhood,” Reed says.

Reed stresses that none of the work has been a solo effort. Current projects include collaborations with the United Methodist Church, Jackson Medical Mall and Hinds Community College.

Twenty-seven years ago, Voice of Calvary Ministries also helped to start the Haiti Christian Development Fund, with the help of Haitian Jean Thomas in Fond-des-Blancs.

Located 60 miles south of Port-au-Prince, it provides immediate and long-term solutions to the problems facing the impoverished nation. Their projects include reforestation, providing clean water, and opening a hospital and a school. Recent efforts focused on helping victims of the earthquake. Thomas was able to recruit three orthopedic surgeons to help mend broken bones.

People came over from Port-au-Prince with literally the clothes on their backs,” Reed says. “Our strength, as we see it, is going to be in the rebuilding of lives.”

—Eileen Eady

Cover photograph by Daphne Nabors.

Apr il 1 - 7, 2 0 1 0

VOL.

8 NO. 29

8

14

36

Motivating the Guv

Suing for the Kids

GOOD Spaces

Tear Down the Wall

Gov. Haley Barbour’s critics say that he’s motivated by much more than saving the state money.

Mississippi’s mental-health system is out of date. The Mississippi Youth Justice Project files suit to make the point.

Whether it’s your home, your workplace, the great outdoors or even your learning environment, here’s how to make it better.

Contemporary Christian musician TobyMac talks about his music, his faith and racial unity.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 4 Editor’s Note 32 JFP Events

4 Slow Poke 35 Books

6 Talk 36 Music

10 Stiggers

38 Music Listings

40 Food

10 Editorial 44 Sports

31 8 Days 45 Astro

BRYANT HAWKINS; COURTESY MISSISSIPPI YOUTH JUSTICE PROJECT; KRISTIN BRENEMEN; COURTESY: TOBYMAC

6

jacksonfreepress.com

contents

3

editor’snote

Daphne Nabors Daphne Nabors is a freelance photographer with a home and studio in the Belhaven Heights area of Jackson. She also plays in two local bands, bass: in Overnight Lows and drums in the Party Dots. She photographed the cover.

Ashley Hill Editorial intern Ashley Hill is complex, in a totally normal way. Born and raised in Chicago, she is a junior mass communication/ multimedia journalism major at Jackson State University. She is a cool, outrageous lover of uniquely raw style. She wrote for GOOD.

Eileen Eady Editorial intern Eileen Eady is looking to find her place in the Deep South. She lives in Wesson with her two boys and husband, but is moving to Arkansas. She wrote for GOOD and interviewed the Jacksonian.

Jesse Crow Editorial intern Jesse Crow, a Pensacola, Fla. native, is a sophomore at Millsaps College.

She enjoys playing with puppies, summer camp and going on long drives in her station wagon named Herman. She wrote for GOOD.

Will Caves Editorial intern Will Caves is a self-proclaimed nerd. A senior communications/public relations major at Mississippi College, this Jones County native loves reading and playing video games and is an avid fan of European soccer. He wrote for GOOD.

Wrijoya Roy Photo intern Wrijoya Roy is a sophomore at Millsaps College planning to study Public Health in the near future. In her spare time, she loves photography, Facebooking, and dancing! She took many photos for this issue.

Brian Johnson The front man for AC/DC? That guy from “The Breakfast Club”?

One day, Brian Johnson’s fame will eclipse them all! He came to us from Kansas by way of New York City, then left us for Chicago. He wrote a book review.

April 1 - 7, 2010

ShaWanda Jacome

4

Assistant to the editor ShaWanda Jacome was born in Jackson and raised in California. Family is everything to her, and in this past year, she rediscovered her passion for writing (thanks Donna). She wrote the music piece on TobyMac.

by Lacey McLaughlin, News Editor

Mapping Our Future

O

ur GOOD issue is not an easy spread to put together, but it is one of the most rewarding features we do at the Jackson Free Press.

Among all the positive things we hear after each issue is how much people learn about how they can get involved and make positive change. The concept of GOOD is a process that involves lots of research and creative thought about the obstacles that affect our future. In homage to the national magazine of the same name, GOOD is about taking difficult and big ideas and breaking them down to educate and empower others.

Our interns play a crucial role in this issue, and as the person responsible for coordinating the information, I’m always impressed by their ideas on creating a more socially responsible future for Jackson and beyond. The phrase “social responsibility” has recently become a marketing buzzword for corporations as they try to sell a better company image, but social responsibility goes beyond just good intentions and catch phrases.

Last weekend, the JFP staff came together to write a mission statement for our company, and after hours of discussing our personal beliefs of what this newspaper stands for, the phrase “social responsibility” topped our list.

Much like putting together this issue, social responsibility is hard—but it’s also one of the most important things we can do to improve the lives of others and our communities. Social responsibility means thinking about the long-term impact of our decisions, whether what kind of developments we allow in our communities to where we shop and our attitudes toward others.

With Jackson’s renaissance in full bloom, making a commitment to doing the right thing for our community is essential to the future. It’s easy to become a cheerleader for all the proposed projects and developments, because most of us want to see the city reach its full potential. But at the same time we have to be cautiously optimistic, hold developers accountable and consider the impact of developments on surrounding neighborhoods.

We also have to come together and have a cohesive plan for our city. Over the years, city planners have put together various master plans for Jackson, but there is nothing up-to-date and concrete to follow. While the city of Ridgeland leaves much to be desired, planners put together the Ridgeland Area Master Plan in 2007 to follow a detailed roadmap for the future. The planning process involved a series of vignettes, or community meetings, that allowed citizens to share their vision and goals for the community.

Ridgeland might have strip malls and oversized houses, but its successful planning is evident as city officials reported a 4.92 percent increase in sales-tax collections last

year, while Jackson was hit with 12 percent drop. In order to improve our city and keep businesses and citizens from moving to the suburbs, we must come together and strategically plan our future.

The good news is that we don’t have to follow the same blueprint other communities have followed. Jackson isn’t made up of just one age group or race—our city is a mixture of diverse cultures and spirits, and we can adequately reflect that in the spaces we create.

When I dream of Jackson’s future, I see amazing public art installations, not just in Fondren, but also in lower-income neighborhoods. I see multi-purpose trails connecting Fondren to Jackson State University by way of Mill Street. I see a community garden in Belhaven in which we grow our own food.

I see neighbors looking out for one another in an effort to reduce crime, and a city that is connected to include west Jackson, south Jackson, midtown, downtown, Fondren, northeast Jackson and Belhaven.

On a more selfish note, I also dream of a movie theater inside the city limits (more specifically an independent film house that serves beer and wine).

Author and activist Jane Jacob was an influential figure on 20th-century urban planning. In her book “The Death and Life of American Cities,” she writes: “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

Traditionally, developers have created suburbs for families that adhere to a predominately white socio-economic class structure and spend a majority of their time in cars commuting. Jackson, however, can

be a city that welcomes diversity, builds mixed-income housing and has a stronger sense of place. One of the best examples of this is the new master plan for midtown by Duvall Decker Architects.

The project, which is about to break ground, will create 63 affordable housingunits while attracting a diverse group of artists, students, families and professionals.

In addition to the housing, the plan includes after-school programs, multi-use trails and environmentally sustainable design. Currently, Duvall Decker is creating a master plan for west Jackson that will follow some of the same protocols.

Last weekend at the JFP retreat, editor-in-chief Donna Ladd and publisher Todd Stauffer gave an oral history of our paper. I’ve heard bits and pieces of how the JFP came to be, but what stood out to me is how Donna and Todd always placed importance on social responsibility before profit and how doing the right thing wasn’t always the easiest, but in the end, it made the biggest difference in the community and for the paper.

Most of us have our own dreams of what we’d like to see happen here in the future. What I like about our GOOD issue is that we get to take big ideas and ask community members how we can make them happen. Like most great ideas, money is sometimes the one thing that holds us back.

But like my mom always says, “Where there is a will there is a way,” and I firmly believe in that statement. In the meantime, let’s work with our neighborhood organizations and other community members to plan new and exciting spaces. Let’s be innovative, bold and believe in the power of our ideas.

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news, culture & irreverence

Thursday, March 25 Attorney General Jim Hood says he needs more time to make a ruling on the healthcare reform bill’s constitutionality. He warns Gov. Haley Barbour not to sue the federal government on his own. … Jackson State University President Dr. Ronald Mason announces his plan to “regenerate” JSU—increasing tuition and class sizes and cutting adjunct staff. Many proponents of HBCUs call for Mason’s resignation.

Friday, March 26 In Uganda, crowds hoping to catch a glimpse of Bugandan King Ronald Mutebi at the royal tombs cause a stampede, killing one and injuring 140. … Karen Irby pleads guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter in the February 2009 deaths of Dr. Mark Pogue and Dr. Lisa Dedousis.

Saturday, March 27 The South Korean Navy continues to search for 46 sailors whose ship sank Friday near a North Korean maritime border. …

Former Delta Democrat-Times and SunHerald editor Merrit “Pic” Firmin, 69, dies after a three-year battle with cancer.

Sunday, March 28 President Obama makes his first trip to Afghanistan as president to meet with U.S. troops and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. … Gov. Haley Barbour accuses the media of being uncritical of the health-care reform bill on ABC’s “This Week.”

April 1 - 7, 2010

Monday, March 29 The U.S. Justice Department charges nine members of a militant group in Michigan with sedition and weapons charges in a plot to kill law-enforcement officers. …

Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker announce that the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority will receive around $2.95 million for improvements to Jackson-Evers International Airports.

6

Tuesday, March 30 The Census Bureau reports that Jackson has one of the lowest return rates of the 2010 Census form: 31 percent as opposed to the national rate of 46 percent.

Suing on behalf of mentally ill kids, p. 8

Ulterior Motive Behind Lawsuit Threat?

G

ov. Haley Barbour may have his own reasons for threatening to sue to stop the Democratically passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, says Dave Levinthal, communications director for lobbyist watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C. “Republicans have made representing the best interests of the insurance industry their policy, so it’s not at all surprising that Barbour would be coming out guns blazing against this kind of legislation, and taking whatever action he deems necessary to stop it,” Levinthal said this week.

Barbour, in particular, is a founding partner of high-powered Washington lobbying group Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, and still receives payments from the firm to a blind trust from which information is unavailable to the public. Barbour described the money paid into the trust at a 2007 appearance on the Matt Friedeman Show on American Family Radio as a form of retirement.

“When I left the firm at the end of 2003, I resigned as chairman and chief executive officer, (and) I didn’t have any stock. So that totally severed my relationship. Except they do pay me retirement,” Barbour said to a caller. “But they pay me a flat retirement that if they make $50 million or $5 million, I get paid the same retirement. So I don’t have any participation; I don’t have any financial interest; I don’t have anything to do with the firm

today other than they pay me retirement.”

Steve Clemons of The Atlantic argued in 2007 that Barbour’s lobbying firm does not provide retirement benefits, so either he is getting a special payout that other employees ROY ADKINS

Wednesday, March 24 French authorities arrest a man under the alias Hacker Croll for hacking the Twitter accounts of Britney Spears and President Obama in April 2009. … The Mississippi House votes unanimously to take a 30-day break in the regular session to wait for additional federal allocations to the state, expected in mid-April.

Mississippi currently has 24,260 acres of managed parks, including special use and leased properties, according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Jamie Franks compared the new health insurance requirement to the state’s own mandate that automobile owners buy auto insurance.

do not get, or the firm is making payments into his blind trust in return for some continuing service.

The firm’s service has included plenty of lobbying for insurance companies, according to information from the Center for Responsive Politics. Barbour, Griffith & Rogers reported a total of $560,000 from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company between 2003 and 2006, and accrued more than $1 million from insurance companies such as Gray Insurance and Collectcorp Inc. between 1998 and the

by Adam Lynch

Center’s most recent figures from 2006.

The firm’s work with health-care providers and multi-million-dollar drug manufacturers, who the reform legislation will affect, is even more apparent. In 2006, the firm collected more than $3.9 million from drug-makers like Bristol-Myers Squibb and health-care providers such as the United Health Group.

Despite this, Barbour argues that he opposes reform because it will put a financial strain on Mississippi to cover the expansion in Medicaid that the bill demands, and told Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood to challenge the bill, or he would file his own suit as governor of Mississippi.

“Under the plan, 15 million people would be moved to the federal-state Medicaid program, which already strains our state budget every year,” Barbour stated in a March 22 letter. “Once the temporary funding is gone, we can expect taxes to spike by hundreds of millions of dollars for Mississippians who will have to pay for this expanded program.”

Advocates for the reform bill, like the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, argue that the federal funding isn’t temporary, and that the federal government will foot the bill for 100 percent of the cost of that expansion in the first three years and 90 percent of the cost afterward.

Barbour, who did not return calls, also

(from worst to best) SPACE EDITION

MOTIVE?, see page 7

by JFP Staff

BUTT

WKET

Bad

ISS Average

“I mean, since this thing passed last weekend, we have seen the longest wet kiss in political history given to the Obama administration by the liberal media elite, and every day that goes by, it gets sloppier,” — Gov. Haley Barbour. Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, March 28.

Good

1305 Ridgeway St. Interstate 55 / Frontage Road design Parking lot across from Hal & Mal’s Flowood Ramps from Capitol Street garage Cul-de-sacs to nowhere Suburban high-rises Metro Parkway JCDC Architecture School The “castle” in Woodlea Battlefield Park (Terry Road & Highway 80) Natchez Trace Parkway Congress Street between Fortification and George streets.

Jackson Zoo Mayes Lake Roof of the King Edward

talk

news, culture & irreverence

MOTIVE?, from page 6

argues on his Web site that the issue is a matter of personal freedom versus government intrusiveness. “The federal government is clearly overreaching its authority by forcing Mississippians and all Americans to buy a product simply because he or she is alive,” Barbour wrote.

Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Jamie Franks compared the insurance requirement to the state’s own mandate that automobile owners buy auto insurance.

“The argument for buying car insurance is that you need to protect the other driver and make sure the other driver’s insurance does not go up because you’re not willing to do what you need to do. But all these years, insurance premiums and health-care costs have been going up because the insured have to pay for the uninsured. It sounds like the same argument to me,” Franks said.

Last week, Hood responded that he needed more time to review the feasibility of a legal challenge to the new law. He added that he did not intend his request for more time to be misinterpreted as a refusal to bring suit, arguing that state law allows the attorney general “a reasonable time” to review the complex constitutional issues surrounding the new legislation.

“Since the reconciliation bill will remove many of the provisions of H.R. 3590, we must wait until there is a final bill in order to

determine the legal impacts of the law,” Hood wrote in a March 24 letter to the governor.

Hood forbade Barbour to take legal action as governor while he pondered the suit: “When this office has had a reasonable time to finish its review and analysis of the matters referenced above, we will promptly notify your office. Meanwhile … you are not authorized by this office to engage or employ counsel, file suit, or intervene in pending litigation at this time while we are completing our review and making our decision whether to file suit.”

Barbour told reporters he would allow Hood an unspecified amount of time to analyze the reconciliation legislation signed last week before seeking his own counsel.

The state statute under which the governor seeks to file suit, Mississippi Code 7-1-5 (n), allows the governor to bring any proper suit affecting the general public interests, in his own name for the state of Mississippi, but only after first requesting the proper officer so to do, and then only if the said officer—meaning the attorney general—refuses or neglects the request.

Hood would not comment upon the potential legal problems of challenging the federal government on this new law, but U.S. history shows that states have failed to overturn federal mandates in the past, such as civil-rights laws, voting-rights laws and the creation of Social Security and Medicare.

Comment at jacksonfreepress.com.

Police Department Saves $295,000

A

KENYA HUDSON

20-officer shortfall and decreased economy and retail shifts outside the city overtime in the Jackson Police De- limits. Johnson also fears revenue from partment are helping offset a $2.3 property taxes to be flat this year, despite million drop in sales tax revenue newly annexed property in south Jackson. this year. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said last The council must approve the mayor’s week that he can use $1.3 million in one- recommendation at the next Budget Comtime unspent money and trim $1 million mittee meeting, which will allow the greater out of the fiscal year 2010 budget, added to council to vote on the adjustment. the amounts saved by city departments, to The $1.4 million in savings by departstop an immediate crisis. ments likely will not repeat itself, even if the City departments saved $1.4 million city continues its restrictive hiring practices this first quarter by filling for another three quarters, only critical staff positions. the mayor said.

JPD, the largest city departA new officer class is ment, saved $684,167 out coming in this year, and of its $36 million budget. the city will fund swimThe Jackson Fire Departming pools and Parks and ment saved $551,238 out of Recreation programs this its $20 million budget, Husummer. “We don’t think man and Cultural services we’re at the bottom of this, saved $90,228 out of its $5 Jackson Mayor Harvey but we have been able to million budget, and Public Johnson Jr. said the manage the deficit we have police department saved Works saved $202,817 out the city big money in the with the resources that we of its $12 million budget. first quarter. have,” he said.

General government, whose The mayor said he is $16 million budget includes the city clerk’s lookingfor savings, as in a new system for office, the legal department and the mayor’s outstanding warrants. “We’re segregating office, managed to save $151,792. our outstanding warrants by precinct, and “We expect sales taxes to be below we’re giving those warrants to precinct combudget by $2.3 million by the year-end,” manders. We gave about 1,000 warrants to Johnson told the City Council Budget the Precinct 2 commander and the beat Committee at the March 24 meeting. officers will start serving those warrants,” Sales taxes are slumping due to a bad Johnson said last week.

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healthtalk

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them only by their initials.

Federal Medicaid law requires states to provide regular screening and treatment for mental illness. Under the ADA, treatment should be “in the most integrated setting appropriate” for mentally ill children, the lawsuit alleges. Instead, Mississippi devotes COURTESY MISSISSIPPI YOUTH JUSTICE PROJECT

OF MONTREAL 4/6

hen Teresa’s daughter came home to Yazoo County in October 2008, after her most recent commitment for mental illness, she needed help immediately. The 18-year-old young woman had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and pervasive development disorder and was susceptible to mood swings and fits of violence, especially at home, Teresa says.

Teresa (who asked that her name be changed to protect her daughter, now 20) began looking for transitional programs for her daughter immediately after committing her to a Mississippi Department of Health facility in Gulfport. Staff at the state institution took her daughter off her medication while she was in Gulfport but recommended that she begin taking it again when she returned home.

“I had learned about transition; I had learned that it’s not good to just dump them back in school,” Teresa says.

Teresa was drawn to Mississippi Youth Programs Around the Clock, a state program that serves mentally ill young people in their homes or communities, and offers counseling and assistance to their families. MYPAC has limited space, however, and was not able to admit Teresa’s daughter until January 2009.

“By that time she had gone off the deepend again,” Teresa says. “She was just too far gone for them to do any good.”

Overwhelmed by her daughter’s unpredictable behavior, Teresa called the police after the young woman stole checks from her.

She is currently in jail, Teresa says.

Teresa’s struggles to get proper treatment for her daughter are common in Mississippi, according to a federal lawsuit filed March 10 against the state. The class-action lawsuit alleges that Mississippi’s current mental-health system—which is primarily funded by the federal Medicaid program—violates terms of the Medicaid law and the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing adequate home- and community-based services for mentally ill children. The suit, filed by the Mississippi Youth Justice Project and Jackson civil-rights lawyer Rob McDuff, names three children as primary plaintiffs, identifying

Vanessa Carroll is representing children in a class-action lawsuit against the state over its mental-health services.

the majority of its resources for mental-health treatment to centralized institutions.

This centralized, institutional approach is out of date, as the state acknowledged in a 2008 report. The report, prepared by the Mississippi Legislature’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee offered a warning.

“Although the mental health environment in the United States has dramatically changed from an institution-based system to a community-based system in recent years, Mississippi’s mental health system has not reflected the shift in service delivery methods,” the PEER Committee wrote.

Mental-health researchers and advocates have pushed for a transition to more community-based services for nearly twenty years.

Studies of community-based programs have found that they can reduce prison recidivism and repeat hospitalizations compared to institutions, often at a substantially lower cost.

Legal precedent for advocates’ work opened in 1999 with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that isolating people with mental illness in

institutions can be a form of discrimination under the ADA. In states that have not dedicated resources to community-based services, advocacy organizations have sued to force the change. Similar class-action lawsuits in Massachusetts, Arizona and California have brought court-ordered community-based treatment to juvenile Medicaid recipients.

Still, Mississippi has been sluggish in following the national trend in decentralizing its mental-health treatment. MYPAC, the state’s best example of community-based treatment, is funded through a federal demonstration grant, not Medicaid. The program has limited capacity, typically serving fewer than 200 children per year. By comparison, state institutions treated nearly 2,000 juveniles in the 2009 fiscal year, with 557 committed to a state hospital, 888 served in a residential treatment facility and 476 in a group home.

Bill Kehoe, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Mississippi Chapter, acknowledged the value of decentralizing the state’s approach to mental health.

“Community-based services would be less expensive on the state to operate,” Kehoe said. “Hospital stays at the state hospitals are just a lot more expensive because of the overhead that the facilities have.”

He noted, however, that state lawmakers have passed a number of bills this session aimed at bringing mental-health treatment closer to home, including House Bill 1525, which creates “crisis intervention teams” that can evaluate individuals in their communities before families resort to committing them to a state institution.

For Teresa—whose daughter is not a named plaintiff in the Youth Justice lawsuit—the state desperately needs more widely available transition services and must dedicate Medicaid funds to programs that treat children after their release from institutions.

“I was smart enough to ask for it and try for it, but it didn’t happen,” she said. “Medicaid is what’s running things. Whoever says, ‘This is what I’ll pay for,’ is what’s dictating the treatment that our children get or don’t get.”

by Ward Schaefer

AMILE WILSON

Taking a Budget Break

Lawmakers are waiting for passage of a federal bill that Rep. Cecil Brown says could restore $50 million to public education.

T

he Mississippi Legislature put budget negotiations on pause this weekend, with plans to reconvene April 20, when the state’s revenue forecast will be clearer. The Senate and House of Representatives agreed Saturday to postpone the legislative session, as the U.S. Congress appears likely to pass an extension of the Medicaid assistance in the 2008 federal stimulus package by mid-April. The increased federal Medicaid contribution would free up $187 million in the state budget for other purposes.

The Senate has passed an appropriations bill that would dedicate an additional $50 million to K-12 education if Congress approves the extra Medicaid assistance, and Democrats in both chambers appear determined to use some of the new money to shore up education.

K-12 and higher education could receive $90 million of the additional federal funds, House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said at a March 23 rally in support of education funding.

The planned postponement appeared in jeopardy, however, after House Republicans twice blocked a resolution necessary to extend the session, on March 23 and 24.

The Republicans demanded a preliminary agreement from House and Senate budget negotiators on overall revenue for the 2011 fiscal year.

Leaders from both chambers eventually reached an agreement to carve a budget from overall anticipated revenues of $4.417 billion, plus $80 million from the state’s rainy-day fund and $54 million from a tobacco settlement fund. In a victory for House Democrats, the conferees agreed to appropriate 100 percent of anticipated 2011 revenues.

Gov. Haley Barbour had called on legislators to appropriate only 98 percent of anticipated revenues as a precaution.

Thursday also saw House Republicans propose two resolutions inspired by national politics. H.C. 73, sponsored by Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Biloxi, would have reaffirmed the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,

which gives states sovereignty over powers not delegated to the federal government.

A second bill, H.C. 101 sponsored by Rep. Alex Monsour, R-Vicksburg, targeted Congress’ recent passage of a health-care reform bill. Monsour’s bill would have allowed representatives to vote on H.C. 17, which proposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting laws that would compel participation in “a health care system.” Both bills lost on narrow votes.

On Friday, the House and Senate both approved the final version of a public-records bill, H.B. 113, which reduces the time public bodies have to respond to a public-records request from 14 days to 7 days. Sponsored by Rep. David Norquist, D-Cleveland, the bill originally focused on a separate issue: costs charged for public-records requests. Current state law allows public agencies to assess “reasonable” fees for retrieving and copying records, a vague standard that allows bodies to charge prohibitively high prices. The House passed a version of Norquist’s bill March 8 that would have defined a “reasonable” copying cost at no more than 50 cents per page.

It also would have required public bodies to charge for retrieval time based on the salary of the lowest-paid employee capable of filling the records request.

In conference committee, House negotiators dropped the cost limits and agreed to the Senate changes, which deal with response deadlines only.

Saturday, both chambers passed a compromise bill that would provide an avenue for creating charter schools in the state. The bill, S.B. 2293, allows parents of students at chronically failing schools to petition the state Board of Education for permission to become “conversion charter schools.” If granted, conversion charter school status would require parents to form an elected “local management board.” This board would function like a school board for the charter school, hiring a principal and approving curriculum. The local management board could also hire an outside agency, like a private charter-school operator, to run the school.

Unlike charter-school proposals supported by the Senate and House Republicans, the final bill would not allow conversion charter schools to compete with traditional public schools for students. Conversion charter schools would only be open to students in the school’s normal attendance zone. House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said that opening charter schools to students outside an attendance zone could diminish funding for the traditional schools within a district.

“I don’t know that we could afford that right now,” Brown said. “The problem with open-enrollment charter schools is you’re essentially starting another school within the school district. That’s going to mean moving money away from existing schools … if the money follows the child.”

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jacksonfreepress.com

Legislature: Week 12

9

jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

Do Good, and Do Better And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

– Hebrews 10:24

I

n a world where the effort to stop insurance companies from denying sick people the care they need brings forth vicious anger, frivolous lawsuits and even physical threats, it can be nice to simply take a breath and think about how we can do “good” in the world. Thankfully, many people are spending more time doing good works than playing political games.

We are blessed to live in a community that, for the most part, believes in giving and helping each other. And that culture of making our city everything we can be grows every year. Sometimes, though, we even need to pause a minute from our efforts to do good. We run ragged from meeting to meeting, donating a bit here, volunteering there. Sadly, this sometimes means that we are placing more Band-aids than we are effecting systemic change.

Every now and then, we need to pause, think, talk and think some more. When we do, we can see the big picture: that there are bad ideas masquerading (purposefully or not) as good ones, that bad laws get in the way of good changes no matter how hard we work.

That has been the case with the JFP’s evolving efforts on fighting domestic abuse in our area. Early on, we raised needed money to help buy clothes and food for victims. Nothing wrong with that, but what is needed is real change. Abusers need to stop abusing in order to stop the cycle. Thus, our efforts went to that last year (and so far only one abuser in the program we helped fund has re-offended, thank God).

We also watched as good legislators like Rep. Brandon Jones of the Coast and Sen. David Blount of Jackson got meaningful domestic-violence legislation passed this session. This year, we are kicking off an effort to educate Mississippians on how bad the law, including on divorce, is for abuse victims, who often cannot leave the men trying to kill them. The JFP Chick Ball campaign will raise money for a legal fund for victims. But with any luck, we will also raise awareness that will help get laws changed. You could call that doing good, and them doing better.

The quarterly GOOD issue is packed with big ideas for our city. This Easter season, we urge you to pick one, or come up with your own, and use it to spur others to good deeds.

To volunteer or donate to the legal fund, write chickball@jacksonfreepress. com or call 601-362-6121 ext. 16.

KEN STIGGERS

Too Nasty

April 1 - 7, 2010

M

10

r. Announcement: “G-SPAN presents live coverage of the Ghetto Science Community Health Care Reform Clinic grand opening.

The clinic is the newest addition to the Club Chicken Wing MultiPurpose Complex. Congressman Smokey ‘Robinson’ McBride organized this event anticipating passage of the health-care reform bill.”

Smokey “Robinson” McBride: “Ghetto Science Community members: As far as I’m concerned, history has been made. You’ve witnessed the struggle.

You saw how the ‘Kill the Bill’ demonstrators used fear, intimidation and humiliation tactics against the Ghettocratic Congress. We endured a lot of cussin’, fussin, moanin’ and complanin’ that day. The angry crowds surrounded us and called us everything but a child of God. We also heard a whole lot of N-words and F-words, if you know what I mean. A large, wet ball of spit flew past my eyes and landed in the ear hole of a fellow congressman. Eww—that was just too nasty!

“An elder congressman had a flashback to 1957, when nine black students integrated a school in Little Rock, Ark. Suddenly, he started singing ‘Oooooh Freedom!’ Another elder congresswoman saw some folk openly carrying weapons. She said: ‘This moment feels like Bloody Sunday all over again!’

“Nevertheless, we marched up the steps, entered the capitol and passed a health-care reform bill.

“Now it’s time for the least of you to exercise your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of healthiness and happiness. I proudly present to you the Ghetto Science Community Health Care Reform Clinic.”

KAMIKAZE

Wrangle the Crazies

O

K, I get it. There are varying opinions on the new health-care bill. You have some who are staunchly in favor of the resolution. Others are none too fond of the new plan. This is what America was built on, correct?

The right to respectfully disagree. The right to hold a different opinion than your neighbor, yet still be comrades with your neighbor.

Of all the polarizing issues that we’ve faced in the history of politics, this seems to be one that could rip the very foundation of this country’s value system.

What’s most unsettling is the anger and vitriol being spit from both sides of the aisle. It seems not so much like debate and more like barroom brawling, and the losers inevitably are the American people.

One side says that all Americans should have access to good health care—health-care that comes without strings and heals without prejudice. The other side feels that the government has overstepped its bounds. Another faction feels like American can’t afford such a plan, while still others feel that health care is a privilege and not a right.

Arguing these points is not my issue. What I will always fight for is our right to argue points in the first place. We’ve put politicians in place to argue points for us, with vigor, but more so, with decorum.

That’s why I’m puzzled by the ever-present race element I’ve seen in the health-care debate.

While it saddens me that there are those who would hurl racial epithets at our lawmakers, what saddens me more is the fact, again, that it’s being turned into a non-issue by those who want to quell conversation. Of course, we realize that not

everyone who opposes the health-care bill is racist. We realize that tea parties are not comprised of only white Americans. Hell, my guest this past Sunday on “A Closer Look” was a young, black male, not a Republican or tea party member, who was vehemently against the new plan, citing financial concerns in an already cashstrapped country.

Fine. No problem there. Problem is, tea party talking heads are sending out releases saying they don’t condone the slurs lodged at those congressmen. Question is, if you don’t condone them, then why do you have members using them? Why aren’t other tea party members, standing side by side with those spewing the hate, standing up to them and asking them to leave? Why are these “renegades” not being called out on the spot?

And if they’re liberal “plants” as some have suggested, why aren’t they being confronted? If you don’t want the “racist” tag associated with your movement, why aren’t you doing more than just issuing press releases? Does it even dawn on you that this is the reason folks feel like this is a “racial” issue? You may want to conveniently bury your head in the sand, but the fact remains that a lot of folks rallying against health care don’t want to see the playing field leveled. There’s a faction of those who are jeering at “big government” because “government” is now run by a black man.

So to those of you steeped in honest debate, understand that those factions are making you look bad and your argument weak. If both liberals and conservatives alike don’t start wrangling in the crazies, there won’t be much room left for us common-sense folk to have intelligent debate.

And that’s the truth ... sho-nuff.

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.

JACKIE WARREN TATUM

GRANDVIEW A M A LC O T H E AT R E

My Personal Easter

South of Walmart in Madison

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Ronni Mott News Editor Lacey McLaughlin 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, Jackie Warren Tatum Anita Modak-Truran,Will Morgan, Larry Morrisey, Chris Nolen,Tom Ramsey, Doctor S, Ken Stiggers, Valerie Wells, Byron Wilkes, John Yargo Editorial Interns Will Caves, Jesse Crow, Eileen Eady, Deanna Graves, Ashley Hill, Kalissia Veal Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Editorial Designer Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Lydia Chadwick Production Designer Christi Vivar Editorial Cartoonist Chris Zuga Photographers Tom Beck, Pat Butler, Josh Hailey, Kenya Hudson, Kate Medley, Meredith Norwood, Lizzie Wright Design Interns Ayatti Hatcher, Jessica Millis Photo Intern Wrijoya Roy Founding Art Director Jimmy Mumford

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I

t’s easier to gather a breeze in a basket than to totally grasp the mystery of Easter.

That mystery confounded Mary Magdalene and other women who entered Jesus’ empty tomb. They became terrified. Suddenly, two men in dazzling clothes appeared and asked them: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

I was terrified, too, and focused on death when as a shy, skinny pre-teen, I attended a summer revival in a central Alabama church.

Hellfire and damnation rolled in over me from the fundamentalist pulpit: We were all sinners and headed straight to hell unless we were saved.

I believed the preacher. When he wasn’t in the pulpit, he was a really nice person.

Trembling, I flapped the handled paper fan back and forth with all my might, but it didn’t cool me or my fear or my conviction in that un-air-conditioned country church. The situation—as I understood it—was not pretty: Death was lurking, and if I had any chance at all of escaping hell fire, I had to walk the aisle, repent, accept Jesus as my savior and join the church.

I did it, and felt immediate relief. It was similar to that feeling that follows barely escaping a head-on collision on the highway.

But I quickly became confused. It seemed that to stay on the safe side, I had to resist evil, like dancing and drinking. Suffice it to say, I didn’t hear many sermons in our church about there being a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:4) or Jesus turning water into wine (John 2: 1-11).

Honestly, the drinking was not much of a problem for me as a kid entering junior high in a dry county, but I loved sock hops.

Since I equated “religion” with God at that time, and my religion was chock full of “no,” I was left in a quandary about how I could simultaneously enjoy life and stay safe for dying. For a long time, religion meant a fair amount of perpetual guilt and fear, and feeling that I was falling short of pleasing a judgmental demanding God. Ironically, however, over the years, as I experienced personal losses and deep pain during the death of loved ones and relationships, I would be aware of an intimate presence deep inside me which comforted me in a manner that was as different from judgment as life is different from death.

Eventually, I was no longer able to tolerate participating in a fundamentalist Christian religion; I became active in a Christian denomination where I grew in awareness of Jesus’ humanity as well as his divinity.

That understanding began to open

me to a process of spiritual freeing that eventually climaxed in a dream: A numinous figure embraced me in forgiveness and unconditional love and acceptance. In that embrace, all that had ever indicted me with guilt was erased, and love released me from my own personal tomb of guilt and fear. I awoke shaken to the core by my own unexpected Easter.

There are many kinds of personal tombs and many kinds of personal Easters.

Recently, I visited my 94-year-old mom in the nursing home. She wasn’t there. Time has entombed her personality. Macular degeneration has entombed her sight, deafness her hearing.

Nearby, her young, comatose roommate lay rigid, frozen by a stroke. I felt like I was entombed in a place of living death.

Suddenly, an immaculately groomed smiling woman dressed in bright pink walked into the room. She’d come to visit the roommate. As she walked toward me, she apologized for her broken speech: It was left from the wreck she’d had, she told me.

After the wreck, she was airlifted to a hospital. She died, and doctors brought her back to life.

“It was a miracle. Praise Jesus!” she said.

I gulped.

The butterfly pin on her blouse caught my eye.

“What a marvelous symbol of your life,” I said, trying to find my bearings.

She said she was resuscitated but remained in a coma for months. One day she just woke up, as if she’d never been asleep.

Then she said: “Jesus is coming back again.”

“It looks like he’s already come back for you,” I said.

“But He’s coming back to show me the beauty and life,” she said, “My,” I thought. “What more beauty and life can there be than resurrection from one’s own death?”

Her husband walked in, lifted the roommate’s twisted hands into his and began slowly, gently massaging them.

The lady in pink sat down by the roommate’s bed and spoke with authority that the roommate could wake up, too.

She knew. It had happened to her.

This weekend, Christians will celebrate what Jesus’ resurrection conveys for all humanity. But for each of us, experiencing escape from our self-imposed tombs creates a personal Easter, one with all the power and awe of the Easter mystery.

CORRECTION

In the article, “Bonds, Boards and the School for the Blind,” in the March 25-31 issue, reporter Ward Schaefer erroneously included Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant in a list of members of the state bond commission. The commission’s members are Gov. Haley Barbour, Attorney General Jim Hood and State Treasurer Tate Reeves. The Jackson Free Press apologizes for the error.

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Editor in Chief Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer

11

Space

W Living Rivers and Streets Confluence Greenway Begun in 1997, the Confluence Greenway is a 200 square-mile network of parks and trails in the St. Louis, Mo., region.

The Greenway connects the ecosystems surrounding the confluence of two of America’s largest rivers—the Mississippi and the Missouri—to the downtown St. Louis riverfront. More than simply connecting bikers and outdoors enthusiasts, though, the Greenway promotes a broader view of the cultural and historical attractions situated around the river’s confluence.

Living River After previous attempts in the 1970s and 1980s fell through, in the mid-1990s, Napa County, Calif., took a new approach to flood control along the Napa River.

A coalition of groups, encompassing city and county government, business interests and environmental organizations, developed a vision of flood control with a “living river” design. The Napa River Flood Control Project preserves the river’s natural depth and slope while using riverbank terracing, a dry bypass channel and new wetlands to mitigate flooding. True to its name, the “living river” design also calls for trails along earthen berms that top the riverbank terraces. Napa County has funded local contributions to the project since 1998, when voters approved a half-cent sales-tax increase.

April 1 - 7, 2010

Connecting to the River Mill River runs through the heart of Stamford, Conn., but for years, the river offered little more than the threat of flooding to local businesses and residents. With a growing downtown business district and residential development continuing in the floodplain, the Mill River Park Master Plan arose in as an attempt to re-connect Stamford residents to the river while containing floodwaters.

When completed, the 28-acre park will feature native vegetation along the river’s natural channel, and an array of recreational infrastructure, including extensive walking 12 and bike trails, a carousel, a skating rink

hether it’s inside our homes, at our workplaces or where we spend our free time, our environments have a big impact on our quality of life.

by Ward Schaefer

and a playground. A product of collaboration among multiple entities, including government and business, the master plan encompasses four themes or ways of connecting to the river: experiential, educational, recreational and ecological.

Complete Streets As their name suggests, complete streets designs provide save use to all people: car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities. They aren’t one-size-fits-all designs, but an approach to making thoroughfares accessible in appropriate ways. “Completing” a downtown avenue may call for a concrete median, bike lanes and well-designed curbs. A residential street may only need sidewalks, and a rural road may simply require a wider, paved shoulder to be more accessible. Complete streets are safer for all travelers and—especially in urban situations—encourage and support walkable development.

Using Unused Space Jackson architect Arthur Jones has had his eye on an overgrown triangular lot in downtown Jackson for years. The open space bordered by Court and Roach Streets, belongs to the Kansas City Railroad Company, which has held on to the property for years with the somewhat hazy future intention of building a switching station there. Jones has dreamt of mowing the lot and using it to hold open-air music events. The city is on board, he says, but the railroad company has been nearly impossible to sway.

Green Space For Pets Thriving communities and neighborhoods know that green space isn’t just for humans.

Pets need a place where they can run freely with their owners. Many cities like Jackson require leashes on dogs at all times, but dog parks provide an exception to that rule. In Belmont, Pa., residents held community meetings and started a petition supporting a dog park. After seeing the public support and need for the park, Belmont city council members secured funding for a public dog park.

In order to change and improve our city and all the spaces that we touch and inhabit, it’s important to evaluate them and seek out innovative ways to improve them. This

GOOD issue presents successful models and ideas from other cities and ways to use them to shape the way we think about and interact with our environments.

Green Spaces

by Jesse Crow

G

reen space—whether a park, community garden, vegetation in a roadway median or open land around a city—is something many communities fight to protect and increase. Instead of developing in an urban-sprawl pattern and destroying surrounding green space, cities should focus on bettering existing city infrastructure and design, and on making the city more accessible.

An increased amount of green space benefits

the environment and also makes those who live around it happier.

Urban Growth Boundaries are mapped lines separating urban areas from the surrounding green belt of open land, usually set for 20 years to discourage urban sprawl and to allow future revisions. Boundaries create livable communities by planning neighborhoods, shops, restaurants, work places and parks close together.

UGBs are mandated locally in Oregon, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tennessee and Washington, 15 California communities, 13 Michigan communities, Miami-Dade County, Fla., Boulder, Colo., Virginia Beach, Va., and Lexington, Ky.

How to establish UGBs 1. Have a vision and gather support.

2. Conduct surveys and a general audit of land use.

3. Create a map showing land to protect and land to be developed.

4. Conduct a specific audit.

5. Propose an ordinance update.

Living less than .62 miles from a green space improves your health.

Anxiety disorders in residential area with 10 percent green space in a .62 radius: 26 per 1000.

Anxiety disorders in residential area containing 90 percent green space in a .62 radius: 18 per 1000.

How to create more green space in Jackson: urn abandoned lots or spaces into community gardens. The Tougaloo-Rainbow sustainable garden, a partnership between Tougaloo College and Rainbow Whole Food Co-op, is located on Tougaloo’s campus in north Jackson. For more information, contact garden coordinator Michael Gentry at 601-573-7529.

Use unusual spaces for gardening: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom started a garden in front of City Hall and a strawberry patch on top of a bus station.

Petition the city for more parks and outdoor recreational areas in the city.

Green your roof, whether by covering the whole roof with sod and plants or just having a few containers of plants. Plants benefit the environment and can provide a source of fresh foods.

T

Cases of depression in a residential area with 10 percent green space withiin a .62-mile radius: 32 per 1000.

Cases of depression in a residential area containing 90 percent green space within a .62-mile radius: 24 per 1000.

SOURCE: THE BBC

A layer of sod on a roof heats to around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, while a rooftop itself can reach temperatures of around 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

13

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Lefleur Lakes Development Foundation developed this Lower Lake Master Plan.

April 1 - 7, 2010

A

14

fter four years of waiting, Mississippi Engineering Group Inc. finally delivered to the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board its 28-page draft of its economicimpact report on a Lower Lake Plan for flood control along the Pearl River.

The draft, financed through the nonprofit Lefleur Lakes Development Foundation, arrived after years of battle between Levee Board members over whether to accept a levee expansion endorsed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or a lake plan promoted by developers promising to contain the Pearl River.

Members of the board created the foundation in 2005 as a means to draw down federal grants and money from the Mississippi Development Authority, and explore economic-development opportunities in

connection with flood control. Members of the Levee Board comprise the foundation, but the board remains focused on a partnership for flood control with the Corps.

The report clearly adopts ideas of internationally known architect Andres Duany, who rejected a larger lakes plan proposed by Jackson oilman John McGowan—which the Corps estimates to cost more than $1 billion due to environmental issues. Duany told the Jackson Free Press last year that he disagreed with any plan that would devastate more than 7,000 acres of hardwood wetland along the Pearl River, and criticized developers for writing off a treasured resource.

“How many cities can boast of a wetland so close to the city’s center?” Duany said. “This is not the kind of thing you destroy. This is an enhancement for the city.”

The smaller Lower Lake Plan would create one 6.5 mile-long lake, which is cheaper and less environmentally invasive than Two Lakes, but would have close to the same amount of flood control, supporters say. The lake, nevertheless, faces environmental opposition. Its current design will inundate a large portion of LeFleur’s Bluff Park, including the Mayes Lake campgrounds.

Mississippi Wildlife Federation Director Cathy Shropshire, like Duany, feared the inundation by the Lower Lake of a scenic area distinctive for its size in a metropolis.

“To have a getaway of that size right in the metropolitan area makes it truly unique.

You just don’t get 300 acres of a nice park-like area in the middle of a big city like this unless you live in an area like Vancouver or New York City. Most places don’t have that kind of value. They’ve developed everything around them,” she said.

Environmentalists suggest that engineers lower the lake level to avoid swamping the campgrounds further north, but Waggoner Engineering Inc. project engineer Barry Royals warned that the lake was already averaging less than 10 feet in depth, and that lowering the lake’s depth further might expose the southernmost portion of the lake, near the Interstate 20 underwater dam, to seasonal drying.

“That area would get filled with weeds and debris and wouldn’t be worth anything as far as development,” Royals told the Jackson Free Press. “You couldn’t build on it, and it sure wouldn’t be pretty to look at.”

The report anticipates the construction of the Lower Lake Plan to cost $605 million, including $50 million for land acquisition, financed by a district expansion and subsequent property tax increases in the area. Taxpayers would have to find $472 million after the federal government’s $133 million co-payment for flood control.

The economic-impact report includes a chart of debt payments, based on an annual payment of $13.8 million per $200 million bond issue, and a 30-year term at 5.5 percent interest. The chart reflects a $12 million loss in the first year as taxpayers pay the up-front costs of the project, with that figure improving little over the next two years. The chart suggests a $3 million loss on the project in the fourth and fifth years, which then becomes a net gain in the sixth year of less than $1 million thanks to lease revenue generated by new lakefront property. The chart anticipates the gain to grow to an average of $12 million a year for the last five years of the life of the bond issue.

The report suggests an influx of businesses to the new lakefront property would help support the 30-year tax burden. Engineers plan development to frame the lake on both the Rankin and Hinds county sides and design the lake to contain two islands accessible by existing Jackson and Rankin county roads. This plan includes a proposal for the development of a waterfront pedestrian promenade on Town Creek, similar to that of San Antonio’s Riverwalk, as promoted by Jackson

directly on levees. In fact, the Corps only allows trees to grow on a levee if the levees are of sufficient size and strength to accommodate the tree roots. “They don’t usually want anything to potentially tear those levees apart or

barn, where the old dog pound was, presents a great spot,” Royals said, discounting worries of a levee ruining a picturesque view of a lake.

“There’ve been 20-foot levees all around this area for umpteen years, but I don’t hear

“How many cities can boast of a wetland so close to the city’s center? ... This is not the kind of thing you destroy.

This is an enhancement for the city.” – Andres Duany damage them,” Pullen said.

The Corps offices in Vicksburg sit atop a reinforced levee, but reinforcing the levees around the Pearl for housing foundation adds considerably to the $206 million price of the levee extension.

Royals said the project plan predicts considerable business to be housed upon the lake’s two islands, which contain high enough floodwalls to handle a 200-year flood event similar to the 1979 flood—which inundated considerable portions of Jackson.

“The shoreline around the lake is developable, in my opinion. You can build in behind existing levees now on the east side in the Flowood area. A lot of the area in downtown Jackson sits on natural bluffs. The old city

anyone complaining about the height of the levees now. I don’t see why businesses behind the levees should not be able to see the lake,” Royals said.

The Corps will begin its final report following the Levee Board’s December approval of the levee expansion plan this year. The Corps predicted last September that the report would require 18 months to complete and cost $1 million. The board will work in the next few months to tweak the levee-expansion plan they approved to allow space and design changes to accommodate a lake. Members of the board suspect that any construction of the Lower Lake may have to wait until the Corps finishes the levee expansion. Board members are unsure of the Lower Lake timeline, because

the Corps has not officially endorsed the construction of the Lower Lake.

Of course, the question of any lake could be moot if the Corps retains its stance against impoundment. The Levee Board adopted the Corps-endorsed levees-only plan over the $1.4 billion Two Lakes Plan last year, but with the condition that the Corps consider allowing a smaller 1,500-acre lake between the levees at a later, undefined, date, and that the Corps agree to design modifications that would better accommodate a levee-locked lake.

Corps Chief of Project Management Doug Kamien told the Levee Board last September that the Corps approved the levee plan almost exclusively due to environmental impacts of any plan to impound the Pearl River.

Corps spokesman Frank Worley says the Corps has not changed that stance since September, which may have prompted the Levee Board to write a March 2 letter to the Corps reminding the federal agency of the board’s desire for a modest lake between the levees.

A majority of the board, including Chairman Billy Orr, wants the Lower Lake Plan intact. Two board members, Leland Speed and Socrates Garrett, lobby for the McGowan plan. Speed has said he doubts the smaller Lower Lake Plan can happen due to the more limited development opportunities to offset its $605 million cost.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

O

nce you step foot in Chimneyville Smokehouse off High Street in Jackson, your salivary glands will automatically start watering. The enticing smell of barbeque teases the taste buds, but Chimneyville Smokehouse can tame any craving for soul food and barbeque that lies within.

Whether you work downtown or are looking for a relaxing lunch experience away from the office, Chimneyville Smokehouse give Chimneyville Smokehouse at 970 High Street a try. Open for lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Monday through Friday, you can drive through if grabbing lunch on the go or step inside to enjoy food cooked to perfection.

“We have years of experience in slow-cooking procedures and follow recipes to be consistent so we can continue to satisfy customers,” says Tim English, General Manager of Chimneyville Smokehouse.

Chimneyville Smokehouse daily serves hickory-smoked chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket & sausage. Each day there is a chef special: on Monday you can order baked chicken or grilled pork chops along with side orders such as turnip greens, black-eyed peas, baby lima beans, squash casserole, corn pudding, macaroni and cheese, and more.

Each day promises a variety of side orders from collard greens & mustard greens to twice-baked potatoes and chicken & dumplings. Chimneyville Smokehouse also offers pork and beef sandwiches in regular and jumbo sizes.

The customer can get creative when ordering from Chimneyville Smokehouse’s menu: order two meats, for instance the baked catfish and grilled pork chops on Monday, and two side orders like macaroni and cheese and baby lima beans.

According to English, the most popular daily chef special is the country-fried steak.

That’s one reason customers keep coming back.

The desserts make you wonder if your Mama is in the kitchen cooking. From Mississippi Mud chocolate pie to lemon ice box pie, you are sure to walk away with a smile on your face from Chimneyville Smokehouse.

Chimneyville Smokehouse is capable of catering for 50 or more within a 24-hr notice. They will cook on-site, or deliver an order for a minimum of 25 people or more.

They cater food for the Dixie National Rodeo each year for both participants and visitors.

Call Linda Stringer at 601-352-9492 for more information on catering.

Craving barbeque? Then let Chimneyville Smokehouse help satisfy that craving. Join them for lunch each Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 970 High Street in Jackson.

For more information online, visit www.chimneyville.com.

jacksonfreepress.com

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and others.

Planners expect the development along the shoreline and islands to be mixed-use neighborhoods consisting of single-family and multi-family housing, retail and commercial properties, as well as parks and civic spaces, a marina facing downtown Jackson, and a series of parks along the levees. Engineers envision some neighborhoods having a high-density, urban feel, while others will have a spacious, residential feel. Zoning categories around the lake include: Rural, Sub-Urban, General Urban, Urban Center and Urban Core, with neighborhoods limited in size by a five-minute walking limit from the edge to shops, workplaces and civic buildings in the center.

The report paints a pretty picture, but opponents of the Lower Lake Plan contend that engineers are overstating the amount of development by de-emphasizing the scenic damage of the levees. Any business sitting at the edge of the lake’s water would have to be on the river side of the levee, and subject to the river’s seasonal lack of mercy. Any new business on the safe side of the levee must contend with the unseemly view of a grass-covered, 20foot levee rather than a pristine lake, they say. `Placing businesses directly on the levees are unlikely. Tom Pullen, a Byram resident and a former Corps employee, points out that the Corps does not generally approve construction

15

Rainbow Co-op

a Walkable City

University of Mississippi Medical Center

Liveable Streets

by Jesse Crow

T

hriving cities take the focus off cars and place it on people. For a city to be liveable, city planning shouldn’t solely accommodate gas-guzzling metal boxes, but should also include the people who live there. Ideally, a city should be well organized so people can ride their bicycles or walk to work, school, restaurants and shops. One way to have a

more sustainable city is to turn the streets into complete streets— streets that consider the needs of all modes of transportation—to allow motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians equal access to roads.

The map below suggests where multi-use trails could be located in parts of Jackson to connect residents to schools, grocery stores and other amenities.

Barkley School

Power APAC Lefleur’s Bluff State Park

Millsaps College Belhaven College

Rowan Middle School

McDade’s

Blackburn Middle School

Eudora Welty Library

Jackson State University Save A Lot

April 1 - 7, 2010

Benefits of biking and walking:

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A

four-mile trip on a bicycle keeps 15 pounds of pollutants out of the atmosphere.

• Reduces air, water and noise pollution, as well as greenhouse gases.

Motor vehicle emissions cause...

31% of the carbon dioxide 81% of carbon monoxide 49% of nitrogen oxides ...in the U.S.

As of 2009,

The average sedan operating costs per mile:15 cents, average ownership costs per day $15.84.

The average minivan/SUV operating costs per mile is 17 cents, average ownership cost per day is $16.85.

SOURCE: WWW.BIKELEAGUE.ORG

CLIPART

How to make your city bike-friendly: 1. Evaluate your community with the League of American Bicyclists’ scorecard.

2. Find out which city leaders you will have to pitch the Bike Friendly application to, and begin to plan your approach.

3. Gather support from the community: bicyclists, local politicians and citizens.

4. Request a meeting with government officials.

5. Get specific commitments, and then follow up.

I

SOURCE: BIKELEAGUE.ORG

What is the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District? cities would like to place more paths and trails. By this fall, the CMPDD expects to have a regional bike plan for interconnecting different city and county bike paths and trails.

How do you make streets liveable?

C

ommunities can’t exist where there is no communal space. Not having walkable public spaces hinders the development of community.

Necessities for street life: • Meaningful destinations—places worth going that can be accessed on foot.

• Safe streets—streets designed for pedestrians as well as motorists.

Narrow streets reduce speeding. In Portland, Ore., the organization

“Skinny Streets” recommends that streets in residental areas are 20 feet wide.

• Comfortable streets—streets with well-defined boundaries and flat street walls give a sense of containment and comfort.

• Interesting streets—streets should convey the message that people live there, thus making them interesting to look at as one walks by.

SOURCE: “ SUBURBAN NATION: THE RISE OF SPRAWL AND THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM,” BY ANDRES DUANY, ELIZABETH PLATER-ZYBERK AND JEFF SPECK

Who can you contact to get involved?

Clay Hays, Chairman of Greater Jackson Partnership Board and member of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities Subcommittee of Technical Committee clayhays@jacksonheart.com 601-948-7575 David Pharr, CMPDD Board of Directors, Jackson representative dpharr@babc.com 601-981-1511

SOURCE: “WALKING THE WALK: HOW WALKABILITY RAISES HOUSING VALUES IN U.S. CITIES” BY ECONOMIST JOSEPH CORTRIGHT.

WALKABILITY

C

MPDD is a nonprofit planning organization serving Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Simpson, Warren and Yazoo counties that is currently working with cities to evaluate existing bike paths and trails, and to map where

n 13 of 15 major U.S. real-estate markets, higher levels of walkability (being close to schools, libraries, schools, shopping centers, grocery stores, jobs within three miles and having accessible and well connected streets) were directly proportionate to higher home values.

John Gomez, Associate Director of Downtown Jackson Partners jgomez@downtown-jackson.com 601-353-9800

Cynthia Buchanan, President of Jackson Chamber of Commerce cbuchanan@greaterjacksonpartner ship.com 601-948-7575

HOME VALUE

Bike-Friendly Cities

O

xford is the only certified bikefriendly city in Mississippi. The League of American Bicyclists certifies bike-friendly cities through a rigorous application process, and assesses communities using these criteria: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning. They also award four levels: platinum, gold, silver and bronze.

Lizzie Wright, Jackson Bike Advocates www.jacksonbikeadvocates.org

Karen Mogridge, Executive Director of Bike Walk Mississippi www.bikewalkmississippi.org 662-801-0176

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people: Evan Wright, Bikeways Coordinator for MDOT ewright@mdot.state.ms.us or 601359-7685

U.S. Average is 1.26 Mississippi’s average is 1.92

Improving Our Streets

4. Overhead lamps 5. Median with plants 6. Green space next to sidewalks 7. Covered bus stop

Improvements: 1. Sidewalks 2. Crosswalks 3. Bike lanes

3 1 Before

6 7

5 2 After

NATIONAL COMPLETE STREETS COALITION

4

Better Streets Means Less Obesity

B

eing obese or overweight causes around 300,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the surgeon general. In 1969, 50 percent of students walked to school, whereas in 2004 only 14 percent of students walked to school. The average amount of miles Americans drive per day have doubled since 1969 to 30 miles. sOURCE: RAILS TO TRAILS.ORG

jacksonfreepress.com

Complete Streets serve more than just the needs of motorists. They also serve bikers, pedestrians, shopkeepers, those in wheelchairs, etc. They are walkable, rideable and driveable, and well connected. Complete streets make use of bike lanes, bus lanes, sidewalks, medians and frequent crossing opportunities.

17

Where do I put my stuff?

I

How We Live

A

by Will Caves

mericans tend to think that bigger is better when it comes to building a home. The average home size in the United States has almost tripled since 1950, according to the National Association of Homebuilders.

n the United States at the end of 2008, more than 51,250 storage facilities provided 2.35 billion square feet for consumer use, the Self Storage Association reports. That amounts to 7.4 square feet of self-storage space for every man, woman and child in the U.S. These facilities made an estimated $20 billion in sales in 2008.

That Stinks!

Average Trash Output

T

Average American Home Size in Square Feet:

1950: 983

1970: 1,500

2000: 2,080

2007: 2,521

he average American produces about 4.4 pounds of garbage per day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That amounts to 29 pounds of trash weekly, and about 1,600 pounds of waste yearly.

The average Mississippi household produces 1.4 tons of trash each year, says Buford Clark of Waste Management Inc. If you were to factor in yard trash such as limbs and other debris, that number would increase to about 1.7 tons per year.

Clark said that the average Mississippian recycles about 8.8 pounds per month.

2009: 2,700

Tips On Going Green in a Not-so-Green Home • Compost your vegetables.

• As appliances break, replace them with more efficient machines.

• Make sure that the “envelope” of the home is tight. Check the seal on windows and doors to cut down on drafts.

• Double-pane windows are more efficient than single-pane; the air between the glass provides insulation.

• Put curtains on the south side of your house to cut down on heat.

I

n contrast, the average home in Great Britain is about 70 to100 meters, which translates to roughly 750 to1,000 square feet. In Japan, the average home size is 1,310 square feet, but 850 to 900-square-foot apartments are the norm in large cities. The living space for most people in Shanghai, China, is 70 square feet each. Five adults and two children, on average, occupy a typical two-room apartment with a large hallway, a kitchen and bathroom.

How to Improve Your Living Space

April 1 - 7, 2010

• Declutter. If your room feels crowded, check to see if there is anything you can get rid of to change the feel. Too much furniture, or furniture that is unnecessarily large, can make a room feel crowded. Make sure you don’t have excess.

• When cleaning, find a space for everything, and make sure all items have a home.

If they aren’t important enough to warrant a home, they probably aren’t important enough to keep.

• If you don’t think you have enough space, think about renovating. Cheap, organic materials can be found at most hardware stores. Most projects can be done over the course of time with minimal effort, and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to change the look of a room by yourself.

18

Calculate Your Living Space

Feng Shui

W

T

hen building a new home or choosing a home to buy, keep in mind that the smaller it is, the better, because it will be cheaper to buy, and to heat and cool. Do a bit of simple math to figure out how much space you really need.

• Jot down everything that you do in your daily routine. Include things like cooking, eating, recreation, sleeping, washing, storage and other parts of your routine activities.

• Measure how much space you currently have to do those actions and write down the square footage for each activity.

• Decide how much room you actually need to do those activities. You might need a bit less space than you think. Add all the estimated numbers. This will give you an estimated number of square feet needed in your new home.

Source: Dan Maginn, an architect from Kansas City, Mo. You can find these ideas and more tips on how to live affordably at www.good.is/post/square-feat-foot-steps/.

he 3,000-year-old Chinese art of feng shui is all about creating flow and balance in your environment. Its principles allow you to create living spaces and workspaces in harmony with nature and living energy, called chi, to promote personal peace and prosperity.

With feng shui, you use positioning, color, art, lighting, natural objects and lots of common sense.

• Spaces become more conducive to fulfilling their primary purpose, whether it be calming and relaxing, or energizing and creative. Create a power position in your office, for example, where you can see entrances and windows, and have your back to a wall.

• Spaces become less cluttered as you adapt to life’s transitions, letting go of the old to make room for the new. Repair broken things, and remove or replace outdated things, including items that hold negative memories.

• Spaces become easier to navigate and keep clean. Removing the sharp corners from a piece of furniture where you’re constantly banging your shin, for example, makes you happier to be in the room. Having a clear path to the closet makes it easier to make sure your clothes are hung up instead of tossed on the floor.

MORE INFORMATION: WESTERNSCHOOLOFFENGSHUI.COM

Learning Spaces T

by Eileen Eady

here are more than 132,000 public and private schools in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Opening and Closing Schools in the U.S.

Where Students Go to School

13% attend schools in towns 23% attend rural schools

During the 2007-2008 school year:

1,927 schools opened.

35% attend suburban schools

2,120 schools closed.

460 future schools were planned planned to open towithin the next 2 years.

Mississippi has 1,047 Public Schools:

Colorful Learning Spaces

No Child Left Inside More than of the students from the “Voice of the Children School Design Project” expressed the importance of an outside recess.

and teacher stay focused,” Englebrecht writes.

In a 2008 study titled “Color in an Optimum Learning Environment,” the authors recommend colors depending on the subject being taught and and use of a learning space.

“Color can alter perception of time, increase school pride, reduce disruptive behavior and aggression, reduce vandalism, reduce absenteeism, and provide a supportive background for the activities being performed,” they write.

Among their recommendations: • Biology: nature—blue, green, teal, brown, beige • Business: corporate —blue, gray, black, burgundy, dark green • Chemistry: logic —blue, green, indigo • Physics: energy— blue, yellow, green, indigo • Foreign Language: friendship — yellow • History: age — amber, blue, yellow, sea green • Mathematics: logic — indigo, blue • Social Studies: social — orange, green, brown

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends of daily free play as an essential part of children’s physical and mental health.

The average child spends only outside every day.

Studies show that students benefit from science-lab experiences far more than indoor simulations and experiments.

Jackson has 32 public playgrounds.

I

n his 2005 book, “Last Child in the Woods,” author Richard Louv coined the phrase “Nature Deficit Disorder.”

He writes about how a disconnection from the natural world in today’s children is contributing to a rise in childhood obesity, attention deficit disorders and depression.

The national No Child Left Inside Act seeks to address these concerns by supporting environmental education opportunities to students. Environmental education improves student achievement by reducing discipline problems in the classroom,

oncreased engagement and enthusiasm, and greater student pride.

John Stark, director of the Clinton Nature Center, is creating opportunities for students to learn about the environment. He is working with No Child Left Inside in Mississippi to bring Environmental Education to students.

“Experiences in nature are a fundamental ingredient for what it is to be a human being. We are seeing the first generation of children who are divorced from those experiences,” Stark said.

elementary schools

130

secondary schools (7-12 grades)

88

306

elementary & secondary combinations

62

vocational alternative schools schools state special

21 schools

The Council for Educational Planning reports that states use the following numbers to plan school construction.

10 acres + 1 additional acre for every 100 students in Elementary School.

20 acres + 1 additional acre for every 100 students in Junior High/Middle School 30 acres + 1 additional acre for every 100 students in Senior High School

Improving Our Spaces for Learning

T

he crack epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s took a toll on New York’s central Harlem, contributing to a cycle of poverty and violence for many families.

To change that cycle, The Children’s Zone Project took 100 blocks in Harlem and created a community space that enriched and improved the lives of the community’s children. The idea is to start as soon as possible creating a supporting environment for children to learn and be successful. In order to do this, it is necessary to surround the children with adult mentors.

At first the organization started by focusing on a single block in Harlem and carefully evaluated the progress of the services provided.

The Children’s Zone then created a pipeline of school, community and health supports to create a better environment.

The Results of the Harlem Children’s Zone Project: • In 2009 the Harlem Children’s Zone served 21,280 individuals.

• 86 percent of parents from Baby College who read to their children less than five times a week improved their frequency.

• In the Harlem Gems preschool program, 62.5 percent of the 161 students ended the program with a school readiness classification of “advanced.”

• 100 percent of children attending Promise Academies I and II tested at or above grade level.

• 93 percent of Promise Academy High School ninth graders passed the Algebra Regents exam in 2008.

For more information visit hcz.org

Good Local Learning Spaces CLIPART

L

ouis Torelli, co-founder of Spaces for Children in Berkeley, Calif., is a specialist in designing optimal learning spaces. “Inadequate classrooms force teachers to act as magicians, entertainers, and disciplinarians,” he wrote in “Enhancing Development through Classroom Design in Early Head Start,” published in Children and Families magazine.

A safe, well-designed space encourages exploration, play and “formation of a healthy identity,” he says, while also supporting teachers and their goals. Among the elements to be considered, Torelli includes furniture (wood instead of plastic), windows to feel connected to the outdoors, lighting (fluorescents are “cold and institutional”), flooring and paint.

In a 2003 paper titled “The Impact of Color on Learning,” educational planner Kathie Englebrecht of Perkins & Will wrote that color affects attention span, work productivity and accuracy, and can ease or cause eyestrain.

Monotone classrooms can cause anxiety, irritability and an inability to concentrate, while color can help increase classroom success.

“The mental stimulation passively received by the color in a room helps the student

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lot of schools are find ing new ways to engage students. Most people think of good learning spaces as shiny, brandnew schools, but with cuts in funding, that’s not possible. If we look at spaces and areas outside of the classroom, we can come up with some innovative learning spaces for children,” Susan Womack of Parents for Public Schools in Jackson says.

A partnership between Ask 4 More Arts (www.keepartsinschools.org) and Casey Elementary School resulted in students improving their achievement on state tests. Casey Elementary has the highest rating given by the State Department of Education.

Communities can help to improve learning spaces. Rainbow Whole Foods Co-op helped start a garden at Casey Elementary School.

Lee Elementary School was able to bring in a local artist to help improve writing through song writing. The school even set up a temporary recording studio.

jacksonfreepress.com

29% attend city schools

19

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Creative Space

by Ashley Hill

JAMES EWING

Double Take

Ordinary objects created new meaning when six artists used existing architecture and objects from the environment and modified them to create an illusion and new perspective. In one installation, artists constructed a lamppost resembling others in a park, but sculpted it to bend backward and create a large crater in the ground.

In Jackson we could take existing damaged infrastructure such as sidewalks, bus stops, stoplights or even trashcans, and turn them into works of art instead of eyesores.

JAMES EWING

The Ego and the Id Artist Franz West placed his aluminum sculptures, standing 20-feet high and consisting of colorful and abstract loops, in Central Park for the public to admire and children to climb on.

In Jackson, artists could weld metal pieces from construction projects and build a sculpture for downtown or a neighborhood park.

The Verdant Walk In an effort to preserve Cleveland’s historic mall, artists built seven sculptures along its 4,000 square feet of green space. The round metal sculptures were fitted with fabric and lit internally at night through solar panels woven into the fabric.

COURTESY CLEVELAND PUBIC ART

New York, N.Y. In New York City, the non-profit Public Art Fund uses donations from public and private organizations to give grants to artists for outdoor exhibits. Here are examples of the exhibits hosted:

Cleveland, Ohio In Cleveland, Ohio, the non-profit Cleveland Public Art works to improve public spaces by bringing art to the city’s neighborhoods, streets and parks. Here are a few of the projects completed since the organization started in 1984:

In Jackson we could use sculptures to draw people to outdoor places such as Hawkins Field, Mynelle Gardens or Lefleur’s Bluff State Park.

The Euclid Avenue Planter To beautify downtown, Cleveland Public Art commissioned artist Mark A. Reigelman II to design and sculpt decorative planters to line the city’s Euclid Avenue. The project was relativity low cost and brought authenticity and visual character to downtown.

COURTESY CLEVELAND PUBLIC ART

Public Art Ideas

In Jackson, we could line East and West Capitol Street with planters and open a design contest to the community.

Rebar steel that gives the statue support Wire mesh used to create the skeleton for “Obama” Strips of cloth placed in a solution that hardens the cloth to withstand weather conditions were then painted with ordinary house paint.

Temporary Public Art Idea: Buy or make your own stencils from a craft store and use sidewalk chalk to fill in the designs on sidewalks or pavement.

Funding Art Spaces

O

rganizations that help foster and promote art in a community create spaces and opportunity for creativity to flourish. But to create those spaces for the arts to thrive, funding needs to be in place. The Mississippi Arts Commission, (www.arts.state.ms.us) funded by the state and private 2007- $1 million en dow ments, 2008- $1.1million allocates more than a $1 mil- 2009- $1.2 million lion in grants to 2010- $ 1.5 million

a wide variety of art’s throughout the state.

Since 2007, the Art’s Commission’s budget has increased.

The Greater Jackson Arts Council (www.jacksonartscouncil.org) also awards grants to organizations in Jackson each year. Application deadlines are Oct. 31 and March 31. The grants are broken down into five categories for funding.

Here is a breakdown of grants from the Greater Jackson Arts Council:

MAJOR CULTURAL PROGRAMS $33,015 Used to enhance arts and cultural opportunities within the Greater Jackson area.

Who can apply: Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.

ARTS EDUCATION/ ARTS THERAPY $5,500

Awarded to use the arts to build self-esteem and develop self-discipline and productivity..

Who can apply: Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, K-12 schools and colleges, social service agencies, community centers, civic organizations, certified art therapists.

CREATIVE ARTISTS $8,600

Awarded to individual artists to develop adventurous and imaginative new works.

NEIGHBORHOOD ARTS $8,250

Who can apply: Professional artists, emerging artists and art students.

Awarded to projects that use the arts to enhance quality of life in neighborhoods.

Who can apply: neighborhood associations and community activists.

S.O.S FUNDING $3,550

Provides emergency dollars for worthy projects and professional/artistic development opportunities.

jacksonfreepress.com

• Enhances the physical environment • Creates a sense of place and distinctiveness • Contributes to community cohesion • Contributes to social health and wellbeing • Contributes to economic value through inward investment and tourism • Fosters civic pride and confidence • Raises quality of life • Reduces crime

P

assersby easily recognize Fondren artist Richard McKey’s studio by the mammoth-sized Obama in front of the building on State Street. He constructed “Obama” just before the 2008 presidential election, and it has since become a Fondren staple with visitors often stopping for photos. McKey encourages anyone to gather materials and start creating art outside their homes.

The materials he used were mostly recycled:

IJO YA RO Y

Benefits of Public Art

How to make your own public art

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A

city thrives when it creates spaces for artists and the community as a whole. Public art is one way a city can improve its aesthetics while making art accessible to everyone, including lower-income neighborhoods that may not have museums and art galleries. Public art can be anything from an outdoor sculpture, mobiles, mixedmedia installations, murals or even paintings on the pavement.

21

KRISTIN BRENEMEN

Change the Room, Change the World

by Donna Ladd

M

any people think the only thing is takes to change the world is fire in the belly and a lot of action. Not so fast. Building a sustainable community takes good conversation and planning that lead to best practices and enduring smart actions.

And the design of your meeting space can make a difference in whether your goals are met.

Peter Block, a partner of the Ohio-based Designed Learning, gives tips to designing an effective physical space in his book “Community: The Structure of Belonging” (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008, $26.95).

“Change the room, change the culture,” he advises. His tips for designing or arranging communal space where people can relax and talk include:

April 1 - 7, 2010

Take the control out of meeting rooms. Use round, or at least oval, tables where everyone can see each other, and no one is at the “head” of the table.

Meet in rooms with windows, a view, green plants and inspiring art on the walls.

Amplify the sound, if needed, so everyone can be heard equally.

22

Choose swivel chairs with low backs so people can move easily.

Avoid auditoriums for community conversations; save them for one-way presentations and performances.

Make reception, hallways and waiting areas comfortable and inviting by adding chairs and even internal windows into the offices that line them.

Don’t use a stage or platform to isolate any participants in a civic dialogue.

Always include a form of art at community meetings (visual, music, poetry, dance, writing).

Break bread at every gathering. Display and share healthy, locally grown and prepared food and drink. “It brings the sacred into the room,” Block says of including delicious food in your meetings.

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BOOK SIGNING The Autobiography of an Execution Hear David R. Dow, distinguished professor at the University of Houston Law Center, litigation director at the Texas Defender Service and author of “The Autobiography of an Execution”.

Tuesday, April 6th at the Lemuria “Dot Com” Building Signing at 5pm | Talk at 5:30pm “Dow isn’t doing high constitutional theory here; this is pure red meat.” - New York Times Book Review (Feb. 4, 2010) Presented by Mississippians Educating for Smart Justice Visit http://mesj-blog.blogspot.com or e-mail mesjinfo@gmail.com for more information

G

entrification is a term that is often misunderstood, but is an important issue to address as cities go through revitalization. As poor neighborhoods once riddled with blight become attractive for younger, more affluent tenants, the poor, minority and older residents on fixed incomes are at risk for displacement as property values rise. So how do communities prevent gentrification?

KEVIN BOTTO

DAVID R. DOW

Building Bridges

• Make a long-term commitment A report by the National Institute for Housing finds that lower-income neighborhoods lose “social capital” when younger residents under 35 move into the urban area, but later move away to the suburbs for better schools and amenities.

• Build bridges, not walls When a different socio-economic group moves into an area, it can bring a different set of norms and beliefs, and create isolation between neighbors. Newcomers to neighbor-

by Lacey McLaughlin

hoods should make an effort to be involved and active by joining neighborhood associations and community organizations.

• Invest in local businesses Ensuring that economic wealth is distributed to lower-income areas is essential to keeping residents and businesses intact. Shop at locally owned businesses in or near your neighborhood whenever possible. In Jackson, Watkins Partners is a diverse development group currently working in the Farish Entertainment District. Watkins is working with original business owners on Farish Street to provide rent-to-own options.

• Developers and residents share goals When new developments come into a city, it’s important for developers and residents to share the same vision. If not, neighborhoods must be able to mobilize and voice concerns. One way to unify a neighborhood is to develop a master plan for the community’s future vision. Currently, the West Jackson Development Group and Duvall Decker Architects are working on a master plan for West Jackson to revitalize the area as a whole.

Transforming Our Communities From the 1970s to the late 1990s, decay and crime had taken over the East Lake Meadows, a 650-unit public-housing project in Atlanta, Ga. Crime was 18 times higher than the national average, and the average age for a grandparent was 32.

Tom Cousins, a developer and philanthropist, created the East Lake Foundation, formed with public and private partners to

revitalize the community and create mixedincome apartments. When construction began, officials provided residents with housing vouchers for temporary relocation. All residents took part in the planning process, and once they returned they were able to obtain affordable housing. The foundation also provides job assistance and after-school programs.

East Lake Before and After COURTESY EAST LAKE FOUNDATION

COURTESY EAST LAKE FOUNDATION

Before • 59 percent of adults relied on welfare.

• 5 percent of fifth graders at a local elementary school met state math standards.

• Employment rate was 13.5 percent.

After • 5 percent of adults rely on welfare.

• 84 percent of students meet or exceed state math standards.

• Employment rate is 71 percent.

WHY PAY MORE TO PRINT? Eyes on the Street

April 1 - 7, 2010

K

24

$2 OFF INK REFILL (min. purchase $10)

$5 OFF TONER REFILL (min. purchase $30)

One per customer. Not valid with other offers.

Code JFPCPN. Location Name: Madison & Flowood | Madison: 601-603-2314 and Flowood: 601-939-3373 www.cartridgeworldusa.com

eeping neighborhoods safe is essential to prevent residents from moving out. Writer and activist Jane Jacobs coined the term “eyes on the street,” meaning that in order to discourage crime, buildings and doors need to face the streets to give a sense of oversight. Increasing pedestrian activity on the streets is another key element to preventing crime because more eyes on the street means less opportunity for criminal activity. Here are other tips for design that prevents crime.

• Trim plants and vegetation outside your home so that they don’t block sight.

• Create open barriers such as chain-link fences that promote visibility.

• Separate public space from private space with signs.

• Provide a visual connection between residential and public spaces by placing widely used rooms like kitchens and living rooms in good view of streets.

Happy Easter From McDade’s Markets Thomas Dean exclusively at The Rogue

• • • • • •

Flowers and Balloons Special Gifts Gourmet Items Specialty Foods Cakes and Pies Lots of goodies to fill your baskets

Call ahead to special-order party trays

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

jacksonfreepress.com

Quality Shirts under $100

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E D I U G G N I P P SHO

da Jacome

by ShaWan ijoya Roy r Photos by W

Mr. Hopsalot Easter bunny, $1.99, Beemon Drugs

Walking eggs, $2.49 and Easter egg bowl, $5.95, Beemon Drugs

Glass pendants, $5, Nice Glass by Lizz

Russell Stover chocolate bunny, $3.99, Beemon Drugs Scarf, $14.95, Beemon Drugs Chaco sandals (men and women’s), $95, Buffalo Peak Outfitters

Green wrapped hoodie, $100, and Patagonia floral dress, $69, Buffalo Peak Outfitters

Jeweled cross, $10.95, Beemon Drugs

Columbia white shade hat, $35, Buffalo Peak Outfitters Stone eggs, $15-$20, Mississippi Petrified Forest Gift Shop Brown enamel cross, $139, Lil McKH Jewelry Sun Dress, $36, Peppy & Posh and Double Daisies romper, $54.50, Peppy & Posh

Hand decorated enamel earrings, $47, Lil McKH Jewelry

Sterling silver double flower earrings, $97, Lil McKH Jewelry Thomas Kinkade’s Easter Joy Bouquet by Teleflora, $55.95$65.95, Whitley Flowers

WHERE2SHOP Beemon Drugs 1220 E. Northside Drive 601-366-9431 Bridgette’s Monograms & Gifts 2725 N. State St. 601-362-9947 www.tcsuniforms.com

April 1 - 7, 2010

Shiraleah purse, $58, Bridgette’s Monograms & Gifts

26

Decorative picture frame, $29.50, Bridgette’s Monograms & Gifts

Square Easter basket, $17, Bridgette’s Monograms & Gifts White egg, $9, Bridgette’s Monograms & Gifts Easter bunny, $6, Bridgette’s Monograms & Gifts Wooden cross, $13, Bridgette’s Monograms & Gifts

Buffalo Peak Outfitters Highland Village 1300 E. Northside Drive 601-366-2557 www.buffalopeak.net Lil McKH Jewelry Studio 200 Commerce St. (above Hal & Mal’s) 601-259-6461 www.LilMcKHJewelry.com

Mississippi Petrified Forest Gift Shop 124 Forest Park Road, Flora 601-879-8189 www.mspetrifiedforest.com Nice Glass by Lizz niceglassbylizz.etsy.com 601-850-8548 discgolfher1@hotmail.com Peppy & Posh 305 Clinton Blvd., Clinton 601-924-2728 Whitley Flowers 740 Lakeland Drive 601-362-8844 www.whitleyflowers.net

distributed by

Capital City Beverages M I S S I S S I P P I ’ S C O M P L E T E B E E R S O U RC E Ask for this beer at stores and restaurants in Central Mississippi.

Can’t find these beers? Call 601-956-2224 for more information.

Pelican Cove Grill THURSDAY 4/1 7:30 PM / NO COVER

Monday thru Friday 2pm - 7pm

LIVE TEAM TRIVIA **HOUSE CASH PRIZES**

Hours: 11 AM Until - 7 days a week 116 Conestoga Rd, Ridgeland, MS

601-853-0105 W W W. S H U C K E R S R E Z . C O M APRIL 1ST THURSDAY

FRIDAY 4/2

7:30PM - 11:30 NO COVER––– GRAVITY

7PM – 10 PM / NO COVER

KARAOKE APRIL 2ND FRIDAY

SATURDAY 4/3

8PM – 1AM $5 COVER––––––

6 PM – 10 PM / NO COVER

3PM – 7PM / NO COVER

Crawfish every Saturday & Sunday Starting at 1 p.m.

JAM HAUS

SERVED UNTIL WE RUN OUT!

MCCANN-WELCH SUNDAY 4/4

HUNTER GIBSON & THE GATORS

APRIL 3RD SATURDAY 3PM – 7PM NO COVER ––––– MIKE & MARTY 8PM – 1AM $5 COVER ––––– HUNTER GIBSON & THE GATORS

THURSDAY 4/8

APRIL 4TH SUNDAY 3PM – 7PM NO COVER ––––– WILL & LINDA

7:30 PM / NO COVER

TEAM TRIVIA **HOUSE CASH PRIZES**

APRIL 6TH TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY 5PM-UNTIL

7:30PM – 11:30PM NO COVER THE XTREMEZ

Come See Us At

APRIL 7TH WEDNESDAY

www.pelicancovegrill.com

PELICAN COVE GRILL 3999A HARBORWALK DRIVE RIDGELAND, MS. 39157 601-605-1865

7:30PM – 11:30PM NO COVER HUNTER GIBSON

Saturday & Sunday 10am - 2pm

APRIL 8TH THURSDAY 7:30PM – 11:30PM NO COVER MIKE & MARTY

jacksonfreepress.com

WEEKNIGHT DINNER SPECIALS

27

Mizell

by Jessica

BUNNY the yard.

I relished the Easter bunny like I did the tooth fairy and Santa Claus, other magical beings that brought me things. My father, wanting me to keep me a child for as long as possible (he tried to convince me Santa Claus was still real when I was 12 by making footprints in the ashes of our fireplace), always had an Easter egg hunt after church, even in our teenage years. The eggs went from being filled with candy to being filled with money, and my brother and I would revert to children again, fighting over the last egg in the yard.

We have quite a few magical tales we tell our children. We tell them about beings that sneak into our houses at night while we are sleeping to leave us money under our pillows, or chocolate and gifts. I always pictured a giant rabbit wearing pants when I thought of the Easter bunny. But where did the concept of a bunny rabbit come from? A bunny rabbit that leaves us … eggs?

The bunny began as the symbol for the pagan goddess of fertility, Eastre, worshiped by pre-Christian

Anglo-Saxons. She was also the goddess of springtime, and her symbol was the rabbit because of its ability to conceive a second litter while already pregnant. The rabbit became the obvious choice as the sign of fertility.

The pagan feast celebrating the return of springtime, or the vernal equinox, conveniently coincided with the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ, and over the years, as missionaries tried to convert the Anglo-Saxons, beliefs were mixed, and the feast eventually turned into the traditional Christian holiday of Easter that we celebrate today.

The Easter bunny as a symbol of Easter was first seen in Germany in the early 1600s, where they made edible bunny sugar pastries and ate colored eggs after Lent. The tradition of eating colored eggs for Easter had to do with the fact that eggs were banned during Lent, resulting in an overabundance of eggs during Easter. The eggs would be colored red to symbolize the blood of Christ and green to symbolize the coming of spring.

German immigrants brought the tradition to American in the 19th century, telling their children that if they were good, a hare would come and put colored eggs in their hats and bonnets. Over the years, the Easter hare became a bunny, and the eggs were filled with chocolate, and, soon, it turned into a hunt for pastel Easter eggs.

ers—in the West Jackson neighborhood to continue to pursue careers, educations and faith.

Change Agents HOUSING Habitat for Humanity/Metro Jackson P.O. Box 55634, Jackson, 39296-5634, 601-353-6060 www.habitatjackson.org Habitat builds and sells homes for lower-income residents in the Jackson at no profit and charges no interest. The organization relies on volunteers to build the homes.

Mississippi Homebuyer Education Center 350 Woodrow Wilson, Ste 3480 601-366-9141 The center provides state-wide homebuyer education and counseling services for first-time mortage applicants.

April 1 - 7, 2010

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT John M. Perkins Foundation 1831 Robinson St., 601-354-1563 www.jmpf.org Provides families with safe, clean, positive places to encourage parents—especially single moth-

28 live and

Enterprise Corporation of the Delta 4 Old River Place, 601-944-1100 www.ecd.org ECD is a private, nonprofit community development financial institution that provides commercial financing, mortgage loans, and technical assistance to support businesses, entrepreneurs, homebuyers and community development projects. ECD’s mission is to strengthen communities, build assets and improve lives of people in economically distressed areas of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Memphis.

Voice of Calvary Ministries 531 W. Capitol St., 601-969-3088 www.vocm.org VOCM Real Estate Development focuses on housing construction, renovation and community green spaces. VOCM provides housing for low- to moderate-income persons and families through its Real Estate Development program.

Mid-South Community Development Corp.

P.O. Box 668, Tougaloo 39174, 601-525-3898 www.midsouthcdc.org Mid-South provides housing and housing-related community services for very low- to moderate-income residents in Hinds County. Its mission is to develop better housing opportunities, stimulate the flow of resources to communities, increase the quality of education, and provide economic development op-

NBLUMHARDT

T

hroughout my childhood, nothing other than Christmas morning made me happier than Easter Sunday. I would wake up to an Easter basket filled with hollow chocolate bunnies and other goodies, and a hunt for eggs in

portunities for at-risk populations.

ties and community development grant programs.

North Midtown Community Development Corp.

215 McTyere Ave., 601-354-5373 northmidtowncdc.com

Mississippi Main Street Association 308 East Pearl St., Suite 101 601-944-0113 www.msmainstreet.com

The mission of North Midtown Community Development Corporation is to make the North Midtown community a more desirable area in which to live, work and raise families. NMCDC was formed for the purpose of the social and economic revitalization of the North Midtown neighborhood, within the boundaries of Woodrow Wilson to the North, Fortification Street to the South, West Street to the East and Mill Street to the West. This corporation places its prime focus on: job creation; providing adequate and affordable housing; crime and drug traffic reduction; quality education of young residents; and encouraging neighborhood identity.

Mississippi Development Authority P.O. Box 849, Jackson, 39205 601-359-3449 www.mississippi.org The agency is organized into three groups: Economic Development, Asset Development and Administration and Financial Services. The Economic Development Group focuses its efforts in traditional business recruitment and retention, community development, tourism development and export development. The Asset Development Group pursues innovative ways to develop unique Mississippi assets such as cultural heritage, natural resources and small town life styles. The Administration and Financial Services Group oversees the agency’s financial and administrative responsibili-

Services: Mississippi Main Street Association is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Mississippi Development Authority. Main Street is an economic development program based in historic preservation. Provides leadership, guidance and counsel to Mississippi Main Street communities through organization, promotion, design and economic development to make our cities and towns better places to work, live and play.

Mississippi Resource Conservation & Development Council Central District 311 Airport Road, Pearl 601-965-5233 Ext.233 central.msrcd.org Services: RC&D depends on grass-roots involvement in making decisions about local areas and on the value of public-private partnerships in making the best use of limited resources. RC&D works to achieve a balance between rural economic development and natural resources protection while working toward a goal of community sustainability.

MORE, page 30

Holy Week at Bellwether MAUNDY THURSDAY, APRIL 1 6:30pm, Supper & Worship Fondren space next to Cups cafe’ GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 2 11:30am service of the Cross Jackson Academy EASTER MORNING RESURRECTION, APRIL 4 10:30am at Jackson Academy

WEIGHT LOSS 101 • Avoid yo-yo dieting • No long-term contract • Weight loss plan based on medical history, dieting history and body type

Tailored to Your Body’s Needs Adipex and herbal weight loss aids available - $99

This Easter, Raised to New Life in Christ 710 Poplar Boulevard in Jackson | 601-487-6670 CHURCH

(Located across the street from Keifer’s in Historic Belhaven)

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bellwetherchurch.org

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950 Rice Road, Ridgeland 601-856-7546 mscrafts.org

EDUCATION:

MORE, from page 28

ART Footprint Creative Arts Institute 1230 Raymond Road, Suite 1121 601-750-0452 Footprint Creative Arts Institute seeks to lay a solid foundation for nurturing, guiding and educating the whole child and their families to embrace culture, value self and community and to become dedicated to a lifelong process of literacy for present and future generations to come. With experience in creative expression including visual arts, African song, dance and rhythms, FCAI fosters growth and self-discipline through the positive creative spirit.

Mississippi Arts Commission 501 N. West St., Suite 1101A, Woolfolk Building 601-359-6030 www.arts.state.ms.us Services: MAC provides grants for the arts and provides services to local artists and arts organizations.

It gives financial support to eligible arts programs and individual artists as well as working toward the preservation of state art. Annually, the Mississippi Arts Commission plans and implements an outstanding list of special projects and initiatives. From the high school recitation competition, Poetry Out Loud, to the online resources the agency provides, the Commission strives to bring the arts to all residents of Mississippi.

Celtic Heritage Society P.O. Box 5166, Jackson 39296-5166 www.celticfestms.org Celtic Heritage’s mission is to study, promote, and preserve Celtic traditions and culture. This includes music, dance, history, language, literature, art and other activities native to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man. CelticFest Mississippi, now in its 16th year, serves as an important vehicle for meeting the society’s mission of studying, promoting, and preserving the musical, artistic, and other cultural traditions of the Celtic nations.

Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi The Mississippi Craft Center

April 1 - 7, 2010

BEFORE:

30

The genius of American craft is how a common and utilitarian basket or wooden bowl may become a piece of art when transformed from materials of the land— wood, clay, fiber, metal and minerals—by the hands of master craftsmen. The Mississippi Craft Center is all about educating people about this natural resource and marketing the talents of Mississippi artisans.

Very Special Arts Mississippi Mississippi Arts Center 201 East Pascagoula St. 601-965-4866 www.vsartsms.org VSA is dedicated to promoting and providing arts opportunities for people with disabilities. More than 10,000 people are involved in VSA arts education, community arts and professional development programs each year.

North Midtown Arts Center 121 Millsaps Ave., 601-540-5991 Northmidtownartscenter.wordpress.com Open to public in order to encourage creativity. The venue is open to rent for events, in house shows and productions.

Greater Jackson Arts Council 225 E. Pascagoula St. . 601-960-1557 The Greater Jackson Arts Council is the official Arts Council for the city of Jackson and Hinds County.

The Board of Directors is a unique and diverse mixture of community leaders. The Council has a year-round funding program that averages 100 grants annually.

Mississippi Humanities Council 3825 Ridgewood Road, Room 311 601-432-6752 www.mshumanities.org The Mississippi Humanities Council has been bringing the insights of history and culture into people’s lives since 1972. The Council celebrates and preserves our diverse cultural heritage, creates public dialogue on issues that matter and enriches the education we offer our children.

Kristen H., 33 years old from Mississippi Body Transformation: 103 lbs & over 70 in.

AFTER:

Body Benefits changed my life in so many different ways. I have lost a total of 103 pounds and now wear a size 2/4! My waist is now smaller than what my thigh used to measure!

I have completely changed my life in each and every aspect by combining a healthy, nutritiously balanced diet with regular daily exercise.

I don’t know what my life would be like now if I had not found Body Benefits classes and Barbara Nobles, my Personal Trainer!

The Jackson Medical Mall provides medical, food, and shopping services to midtown Jackson residents.

The medical aspect fills health-care needs for midtown citizens and allows them access to treatments that they otherwise might not be able to get.

Operation Shoestring 1711 Bailey Ave. 601-353-6336 www.operationshoestring.org Operation Shoestring provides services to the children and families of central Jackson. It has after-school tutoring, art, music, and dance programs, athletic summer camps and family communication and parenting classes.

Parents for Public Schools 200 N Congress St., Suite 500 800-880-1222 or 601-969-6936 www.parents4publicschools.com

N.U.T.S. is a resale store that carries a variety of used items ranging from household items, clothing, furniture, toys and collectibles.

GREEN SPACE

PPS strives to hold districts accountable for results by training and organizing parents to be advocates for their children. Parents are encouraged to become involved. PPS also promotes more arts and music education in schools.

Mississippi Recreation and Parks Association PO Box 16451, Hattiesburg, 39404-6451 www.aboutmrpa.org MRPA works closely with state and local recreation professionals, park agencies, associated corporations within the industry, and citizen groups publicize and support state and local recreational activities.

HEALTH & WELLNESS: Tougaloo-Rainbow Sustainable Garden 500 W. County Line Road 601-977-7700 www.tougaloo.edu

Mississippi Forestry Commission 660 North St., Suite 300 601-359-1386 www.mfc.ms.gov

The community garden is a collaboration between Tougaloo College and Rainbow Grocery to provide the community with organic vegetables and fruit at low cost.

Jackson Roadmap To Health Equity Project 350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., Suite 3140 601-987-6783 www.jacksonroadmap.org

Provides active leadership in forest protection, forest management, forest inventory and effective forest information distribution, necessary for Mississippi’s sustainable forest-based economy.

Mississippi Urban Forest Council 164 Trace Cove Drive, Madison 601-856-1660 or 601-672-0755 www.mfc.state.ms.us/mufc.htm

The Roadmap to Health Project strives to improve the health of local residents and to promote exercise in Jackson. The Road Map does this by breaking down environmental and economical barriers that would have otherwise prevented Jacksonians from exercising.

Jackson Medical Mall 350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave. 601-982-8467 www.jacksonmedicalmall.com

NUTS – Neat Used Things for Sale 114 Millsaps Ave. 601-355-7458 www.goodsamaritancenter.org

Promotes quality urban and community forestry in Mississippi.

Sierra Club- Mississippi Chapter 912 N. Congress St. 601-352-1026 Protects communites and the environment through legal work and advocacy.

Web Programmer Needed Part-time Web programmer (HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript) sought for new and ongoing JFP web projects. iPhone/Android experience welcome.

Also, paid or credit internships.

Flexible hours possible.

601-991-9904 731 Pear Orchard Road • Ridgeland Odyssey North Shopping Center • Suite 30      www.body-benefits.com

Interested? Send resumé and sample links to todd@jacksonfreepress.com.

BEST BETS April 1 - 8

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

THURSDAY 4/1 SATURDAY 4/3 The Fondren Easter Egg Hunt at The Cedars (4145 Old Canton Road) is at 10 a.m. Free; call 601-981-9606. … Tougaloo College’s Two Rivers Gala at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.) begins at 7 p.m. Proceeds benefit the school’s scholarship fund. $100; call 601-977-7871. … The Greater Belhaven Market at Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St.) is from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Free admission; call 601-506-2848 or 601-354-6573. …TobyMac, Skillet and House of Heroes perform at the Mississippi Coliseum at 7 p.m. as part of the “Awake Tonight” tour. $20-$75; visit tobymac.com. … The Mississippi Community Symphonic Band concert at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Drive) begins at 7 p.m. Free; visit mcsb.us. … King Edward is at Underground 119 from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. $10. … The Coathangers, The Quills and Senryu perform at Ole Tavern at 10 p.m. Call 601-960-2700. … Acirema plays at Sam’s Lounge at 10 p.m. Call 601-983-2526.

SUNDAY 4/4 You can take part in one of the many Easter services around town, including at the Jackson Academy by Bellwether Church, at Mayes Lake by The Journey, The Church Triumphant and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral. Visit jfpevents.com for more options. … Will & Linda perform at Shucker’s from 3-7 p.m. Free. … Come to Mike & Marty’s Open Jam Session at the Warehouse from 6-10 p.m. Free. …

Open-mic poetry at Cultural Expressions starts at 8 p.m. $5.

MONDAY 4/5 The grand opening of the Connie Hanson Talent Agency (1058 Ridgewood Place, Suite B) begins at 9 a.m. Call 601-259-2256. … Enjoy world music during Marley Monday at Dreamz starting at 6 p.m. … Come to the Central Mississippi Blues Society Jam at Hal & Mal’s from 8-11 p.m. $5.

Actress/singer Connie Hanson (pictured here as Marshallene in “Urban Cowboy”) celebrates the opening of her new talent agency April 5.

Enjoy ballet by TALK Dance Company, performing Handel’s “Messiah” and Copland’s “Rodeo” at 8 p.m. at Jackson Academy (4908 Ridgewood Road) in the Performing Arts Center. $20, $10 students; call 601-291-0158. … At F. Jones Corner, Stevie J performs during the blues lunch at noon. Free. From 11:30 p.m.-4 a.m., Stevie J performs with the Blues Eruption. $5. … Chris Gill and the Soulshakers play at Underground 119 from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. $10. … First Friday at Schimmel’s with DJ Unpredictable starts at 10 p.m. Free for first 50 people, $10 thereafter, $100 tables, $150 booths; visit jbentertainmentgroup.net. … George McConnell performs at Martin’s at 10 p.m. Call 601-354-9712. … Check out Willie Heath Neal at Ole Tavern at 10 p.m. Call 601-960-2700.

The JSU Opera/Musical Theatre Ensemble and Anissa Hampton and Friends perform during “Live at the Legacy” at Jackson State University’s new Student Center (1400 John R. Lynch St.) from noon-2 p.m. Free; call 601-979-0623. … Shaun Patterson performs at Bonnie Blair’s Irish Pub from 7-10 p.m. Call 769-251-0692. … The Extremez play at Shucker’s from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Free.

WEDNESDAY 4/7 The Parents for Public Schools Lunch Bunch meets at the Jackson Medical Mall Community Room (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.) at 11:45 a.m. Please RSVP. $5 lunch; call 601-969-6015. … Enjoy art, spoken word and essays by high school and college students at the fourth annual Creative Arts Festival at Jackson State University (140 John R. Lynch St.) beginning at 3 p.m. The festival continues at 8 a.m. April 8. Speakers include Dr. Leslie McLemore and Dr. Jerry Ward.

Free; call 601-979-3935. … Snazz plays at the Regency Hotel starting at 8:30 p.m. Call 601-969-2141. … Sing like a rock star during karaoke at The Auditorium from 9 p.m.-midnight. Call 601-982-0002.

THURSDAY 4/8 The annual Arts, Eats & Beats in the Fondren neighborhood is from 5-8 p.m. Call 601-981-9606. … Come enjoy a “Creative Class” martini at the JFP Lounge at Sal & Mookie’s Pi(e) Lounge (565 Taylor St.) from 6-10 p.m. Free admission; call 601-362-6121, ext. 11. … Pianist Jade Simmons performs during the “Kandinsky and Scriabin: Hearing Color, Seeing Sound” presentation at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) at 6 p.m. $10; call 601-960-1565. … The D’lo Trio plays Americana music at the Cherokee Inn at 6:30 p.m.

Call 601-362-6388. … Gravity performs at Pop’s.

More events and details at jfpevents.com.

Dr. Leslie McLemore is one of the keynote speakers at Jackson State University’s Creative Arts Festival April 7-8.

KENYA HUDSON

FRIDAY 4/2

TUESDAY 4/6

jacksonfreepress.com

COURTESY CONNIE HANSON

Bluesman Jesse Robinson is at Lumpkin’s BBQ from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. … Radio JFP with Todd Stauffer and Donna Ladd starts at noon on WLEZ 100.1 FM; visit wlezfm.com. … The Young Professionals Alliance luncheon at the Clarion-Ledger Community Room (311 E. Pearl St.) begins at noon; an RSVP is required. Join the alliance again for “Downtown at Dusk” at Underground 119 at 4 p.m. for free crawfish, beer and live music. E-mail nmcnamee@greaterjack sonpartnership.com. … Fondren After 5 in Fondren is from 5-8 p.m. Call 601-981-9606. … The Used Goods play at Sal & Mookie’s. Call 601-368-1919. … Fingers Taylor & Friends play at Soulshine in Ridgeland. Call 601-856-8646. … Edwin McCain performs in Hal & Mal’s Big Room at 9 p.m. Call 601-948-0888. … Come to Dance Night at Fire. $5.

31

jfpevents JFP SPONSORED EVENTS Radio JFP on WLEZ ongoing, at WLEZ 100.1 FM. Join Donna Ladd and Todd Stauffer every Thursday from noon-1 p.m., where they will discuss vital issues, play local music and feature special guests. The broadcast is available online at wlezfm.com. Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 17.

Operation Spring Fling: A Benefit for Operation Shoestring April 16, 7 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Slap on your favorite blue jeans, sample some delicacies and dig the sounds of Horse Trailer at 7 p.m. and Wiley & the Checkmates at 9:15 p.m. to benefit Operation Shoestring. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, BeBop and at the door. $25; call 601-353-6336.

Southern Fried Karaoke - “May Day” Edition May 1, 9 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). Todd Stauffer and Donna Ladd are the hosts. All singers welcome; great singers are hugged, kissed and sometimes make it into documentary films! Come sing along with all the bar room favorites. Eevery Southern Fried Karaoke is an experience. Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 16.

HOLIDAY Holy Week April 1-4, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral (305 E. Capitol Street). Services include Maundy Thursday April 1 at 6:30 p.m. two Good Friday services on April 2, an Easter Eve vigil on April 3 at 7:30 p.m. and three Easter services on April 4. Call 601-354-1535.

April 1 - 7, 2010

9

(Order on line for zen-like experience)

24 Beers on Tap

Happy Hour 4-6 pm $3.50 pints

Events at The Journey (4101 Northview Drive, Suite C-2). Visit explorethejourney.org.

• Good Friday Service April 2, 6:30 p.m., Communion and prayer will take place during the service.

• Easter Sunday Service April 4, noon, at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, Mayes Lake (115 Lakeland Terrace), in the pavillion. The program consists of a barbecue lunch and a service with music and the Easter story. Bring a blanket or chairs. Free.

Breakfast with the Animals and the Easter Bunny April 3, 8 a.m., at Jackson Zoological Park (2918 W. Capitol St.). Come and enjoy a delicious buffet of breakfast food, followed by a personal tour with Animal Care staff. Space is limited; a reservation is required. $4-$6, kids 2 and under free; call 601-352-2580.

Fondren Easter Egg Hunt April 3, 10 a.m. at The Cedars (4145 Old Canton Road). The annual event on the front lawn includes a visit from thr Easter Bunny. Free; call 601-981-9606.

Resurrection Sunday/Friends and Family Day Service April 4, 10 a.m., at The Church Triumphant (Odyssey North, 731 S. Pear Orchard Rd., Suite 43, Ridgeland). The annual event, which includes music, dance and preaching, will be preceded by a pancake breakfast from 9-9:45 a.m.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their friends and family with them. Free; call 601-977-0007.

TALK Dance Goes Global

by Kate Brewster

E

ight dancers leap and bound across extended motion and fluid connection of the floor, hitting the ground lightly contemporary ballet to set the tone for Aarbefore flying up again. A young girl on Copland’s “Rodeo,” beautifully blended effortlessly launches over the head of with Handel’s more sacred “Messiah.” her partner.

“We eventually want to show HanJackson’s TALK Dance Company del as he wrote the Messiah.” Wynne, a brings a new interpretation to Handel’s native of Philadelphia, Pa., said.

“Messiah” Friday, April 2, to Jackson This perhaps explains Wynne’s choice Academy’s Performing Arts Center. The of Copland’s “Rodeo” as the other half of concert combines elements Friday’s concert. of contemporary ballet and “Because the tour modern dance. is ‘Merging Musical Proceeds will go Worlds,’ we wanted to toward “Merging Musical bring in an American Worlds,” TALK’s internacomposer … and explain tional tour of Russia. The that this is who we are, group hopes to leave for this is the American Moscow at the end of May past,” Wynne said. after raising $30,000.

Wynne, who is also Six opera singers, a an associate professor of Brittany Sima and 300-voice choir, and the St. DeMarcus Suggs rehearse dance at Belhaven ColPetersburg Philharmonic for Handel’s “Messiah” and lege, and his dancers have will accompany TALK’s Copland’s “Rodeo.” spent the last six months Russian production. The designing a show that company’s venues include the Shostakov- exemplifies the sense of community found ich in St. Petersburg and the Kremlin in here in America. “Overseas, people will be Moscow. It will be the first presentation really surprised that all this is coming out of of Handel’s “Messiah” performed at the Jackson,” he says.

Kremlin complex.

TALK Dance Co.’s performance is April The troupe of eight performers and 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and $10 students. three choreographers—Caleb Mitchell, Purchase tickets at www.talkdance.org, or Brittany Nunes and Stephen Wynne—use call 601 291 0158 to reserve tickets.

AMILE WILSON

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www.MellowMushroom.com

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www.MellowMushroom.com

Mellow Mushroom pizza bakers

Holy Week Services April 1-2, at Galloway United Methodist Church (305 N. Congress St.). Join Galloway for Maundy Thursday Communion on April 1 at 6 p.m., and Good Friday service and lunch on April 2 at noon followed by Tenbrae service at 6 p.m. Call 601-353-9691.

Bellwether Church’s Holy Week April 1-4.

The church’s Maundy Thursday service on April 1 will be at the space next to Cups on Old Canton Road in Fondren and includes supper and worship. The Good Friday service on April 2 at 11:30 a.m. and Easter service on April 4 at 10:30 a.m. will be at Jackson Academy (4908 Ridgewood Road). Free; visit bellwetherchurch.org.

Greater Belhaven Market ongoing, at Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St.). Be sure to stop by and buy some produce or other food or gift items. The market is open Saturdays from 8 a.m.2 p.m. until Dec. 18. Free admission; call 601506-2848 or 601-354-6573.

Celebration of Strong Women Call for Nominations through April 8, at the Baptist Medical Center Web Site (mbhs.org). Five categories include Defender, Mentor, Leader, Perseverance and Promise. A distinguished panel of women will judge nominees. Nominations are due April 8 at mbhs.org. The winners will be announced May 6. Free; call 601-968-5135.

Historic Preservation Awards Call for Nominations through April 5, at Jackson City Hall (200 S. President St.). The City of Jackson Historic Preservation Commission will issue awards in May to outstanding historic preservation projects that have been substantially completed between January 2007 and January 2010. The deadline for nominations is April 5 at 5 p.m. Free; call 601-960-2006.

Governor’s Cup Awards Call for Nominations through April 7, at Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau (111 E. Capitol St., Suite 102). Sponsored

by Governor Haley Barbour and the Mississippi Development Authority, in partnership with the Mississippi Economic Development Council, the awards recognize businesses from around Mississippi that made a significant contribution to their communities and the state in 2009. The deadline for nominations is April 7. All award recipients will be honored at the annual MEDC awards banquet scheduled for July 22. Call 601-359-3593.

Community Foundation of Greater Jackson Call for Grant Proposals through April 8, at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson (525 E. Capitol St., Suite 5B). General grant proposals, especially for programs with an emphasis on reading and programs seeking to prevent youth dropouts, are being accepted. Nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, churches and schools are eligible to apply for their programs located in Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties. An application and guidelines are available on the Foundation’s website, www.cfgj.org. Free; call 601-974-6044, ext. 221.

Young Professionals Alliance Luncheon April 1, noon, at Clarion-Ledger Community Room (311 E. Pearl St.). Topics include the role of the alliance, upcoming events, and ways to get involved. An RSVP is required. Free; e-mail nmcnamee@greaterj acksonpartnership.com.

Fondren After 5 April 1, 5-8 p.m., at Fondren. This monthly event showcases the local shops, galleries and restaurants of the Fondren neighborhood. Free; call 601-981-1806.

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

Jackson Audubon Society Monthly Bird Walk April 3, 8 a.m., at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, Mayes Lake (115 Lakeland Terrace). The walk is led by an experienced Audubon Society member.

Bring binoculars, water, insect repellant and a snack. Call ahead if you would like to borrow a pair of binoculars. Children under 15 must be with an adult. Free, $3 car entrance fee; call 601956-7444.

Two Rivers Gala April 3, 7 p.m., at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.).

The annual event is a scholarship fundraiser for Tougaloo College that includes food and music

by The Whispers, Vick Allen, Meet the Press and Tonya Youngblood. Tickets are available at Cellular Connection in the Jackson Medical Mall, BeBop and Tougaloo College. $100; call 601-977-7871.

Ishmon Bracey Blues Marker Unveiling April 5, 10 a.m., at Jim Hill High School (2185 Fortune St.). The dedication ceremony is in honor of the late Jackson-based singer. Free; visit msbluestrail.org.

Story Time Tuesday April 6, 10 a.m., at Jackson Zoological Park (2918 W. Capitol St.). Every first Tuesday of the month (March thru Sept.), a local celebrity comes to the zoo to read an animal story to the kids. After story time, the kids get to do a related craft project or have an animal encounter.

Free with paid admission; call 601-352-2580.

“Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History” April 6, 11:30 a.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). The program celebrating women’s history is presented by Beverly Fatherree and is sponsored by the Jackson Branch of the American Association of University Women. Order lunch by April 2. $11 lunch; call 601-919-2138.

Financial Education Seminar April 6, 6 p.m., at 3000 Fondren Building (3000 Old Canton Road), in suite 550. Hosted by Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Jackson, this month’s topic is, “Homeowner Preparation - Where Do I Start?”

Free; call 601-969-6431.

Small Business Administration Loan Clinic April 6, 4:30 p.m., at Regions Plaza (210 E. Capitol St.), in the SBA Conference Room on the 10th floor. Learn about the SBA products used to guaranty loans ranging from $5,000 to $2 million as well as approved and participating lenders in the area. Space is limited. Call or go online at sba.gov/ ms to register. Free; call 601-965-4378, ext. 11.

LUNCH BUNCH April 7th at 11:45 a.m.

Jackson Medical Mall Community Room Topic: Parent Leadership Institute RSVP to 601.969.6015 $5.00 for Lunch PPSJ is now recruiting for the 2010 PLI Class!

Join us. For our city. For our children.

For our future.

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

www.ppsjackson.org

Mississippi Business and Technology Expo April 7-8, at Mississippi Trade Mart (1200 Mississippi St.). The networking event includes almost 200 exhibits, seminars, awards and door prizes. Hours are 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. April 7 and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 8. Free with a business card; call 601-364-1000.

“History Is Lunch” April 7, noon, at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Luther Brown, director of Delta State University’s Delta Center for Culture and Learning, presents “The Mississippi River.” Bring your own lunch; coffee/water provided. Free; call 601-576-6850.

15th Annual Human Resource Conference and Expo April 7-9, at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). Meet and network with colleagues in human resources. law and other related fields. RSVP by April 1. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 7, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

April 8 and 7:30-11:30 a.m. April 9. $275, $150 Thursday or Friday only, other fees may apply; call 662-455-8300.

MUSIC Downtown at Dusk April 1, 4 p.m., at Underground 119 (119 South President Street), in the back parking lot. The monthly event includes crawfish, beer, and live music. The concert is sponsored by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, the Young Professionals Alliance, the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Jackson’s Downtown Neighborhood Association. Free; e-mail nmcnamee@great erjacksonpartnership.com.

Mississippi Community Symphonic Band Concert April 3, 7 p.m., at Belhaven University, Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Dr.). The performance includes a special appearance by the Mississippi Swing. Free; call 601-605-2786.

More EVENTS, see page 34

jacksonfreepress.com

COMMUNITY

Magnolia Roller Vixens v. Montgomery Roller Derby Mashup April 3, 7 p.m., at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). The Magnolia Roller Vixens team up with the Helles Belles of Montgomery Roller Derby in a mixed roller derby bout! Come see the first home game of the 2010 season! $12 advance, $15 at the door; call 601-519-0479.

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jfpevents

from page 33

“Singing about Longleaf” April 6, 12 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). The Blues Rangers will sing songs highlighting forest management issues. $3-$5, children under 3 and museum members free; call 601-354-7303.

“Live at the Legacy” April 6, noon, at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), in the new Student Center. The JSU Opera/Musical Theatre Ensemble and Anissa Hampton and Friends will perform. Free; call 601-979-0623.

8th Grade/Senior Music Recitals April 8, 5:30 p.m., at Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex (1120 Riverside Drive). Students will perform vocally and on instruments. Free; call 601960-5300.

STAGE AND SCREEN TALK Dance Company Presents Handel’s “Messiah” and Copland’s “Rodeo” April 2, 6:30 p.m., at Jackson Academy (4908 Ridgewood Road), in the Performing Arts Center. The ballet is a preview of the show TALK Dance will give in St. Petersburg, Russia. $20, $10 students; call 601-291-0158.

PUTNAM’S AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE

Putnam’s Auto thanks you for voting us one of the

Best Mechanics in Jackson 4879 N State St • Jackson, MS 39206 • (601) 366-1886

Actor’s Playhouse Auditions April 3 and 10, at Actor’s Playhouse (121 Paul Truitt Lane, Pearl).

The company is seeking boys and girls entering the 4th-12th grades. Come prepared to sing, dance and act. Free; visit actorsplayhouse.net.

“The Boys Next Door” April 6-9, at Hinds Community College, Brooks Theatre (501 E. Main St., Raymond). The play for ages 10 and up is at 7 p.m. nightly. Seating is limited. Reservations at least 24 hours in advance are required. $5, $2 Hinds students, $3 non-Hinds students; call 601-857-3266.

CREATIVE CLASSES Shut Up and Write! April 10-June 12, at JFP Classroom (2727 Old Canton Road, Suite 224). Sign up for the workshop series of JFP editor-in-chief Donna Ladd’s popular non-fiction and creative writing classes. The class will be held every other Saturday from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Men and women are welcome. Gift certificates are available. $150 (including materials), $75 non-refundable deposit required; call 601-362-6121, ext. 16.

9,000 square feet of recycled furnishings, fashions & fabulous funk!

626 Ridgew oo M -F 10am -6 d Rd. in Ridgeland pm & Sat. 1 0am -5pm 601-605 -9 393 www

.r e p e a ts tr e

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Adult Hand-Built Pottery Class April 3-24, at ArtWorks Studios (160 W. Government St., Brandon). The four-week class on Saturdays is for anyone who wants to make containers or sculptures. $135 (includes materials); call 601-622-5511.

Jewelry Making 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.

Belly Dance Class ongoing, at Lumpkin’s Restaurant (182 Raymond Road). The class is held every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. $5; call 601-373-7707.

All Writers Workshop ongoing, at Pearl Public Library (2416 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). The workshop, which is held every second and fourth Tuesday from 6-7:30 p.m., will focus on inspiration, tips, exercises, and member critique. Free; call 601-985-8011.

April 1 - 7, 2010

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS

34

Events at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 North). Call 601-366-7619.

• “Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives: Stories” April 2, 5 p.m. Brad Watson signs copies of his book; reading at 5:30 p.m. $23.95 book.

• “Flying Lessons” April 3, 10 a.m. Gilbert Ford signs copies of his book. $16.99 book.

• “Forecasts and Faith” April 5, 5 p.m. WLBT chief meteorologist Barbie Bassett signs copies of her book. $22.95 book.

• “Out of My Mind” April 7, 5 p.m. Sharon Draper signs copies of her book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $16.99 book.

GALLERIES “Local Girls II” through April 2, at Gallery 119 (119 S. President St.). See new works by Cleta Ellington, Kit Fields, Pryor Graeber, Lucy Mazzaferro, Melissa Neville, Roz Roy and Miriam Weems.

Hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment. Free admission; call 601-969-4091.

Sandra Murchison Traces the Mississippi Blues Trail through April 2, at Fischer Galleries (3100 N. State St., Suite 101). The solo exhibition of artwork depicts remnants of the Delta portion of the Mississippi Blues Trail. Free admission; call 601-974-1431.

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS 4th Annual Creative Arts Festival April 7-8, at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.).

The theme is “The Sit-in Movement and Student Activism Fifty Years Later.” The festival is at 3 p.m. on April 7 and 8 a.m. on April 8. Speakers include Dr. Leslie McLemore and Dr. Jerry Ward. Free; call 601-979-3935.

“Just Dance” Call for Entries through April 30, at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.).

To commemorate the International Ballet Competition, the Greater Jackson Arts Council is calling for entries in media such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, film/video, mixed media and installation. $25 entry fee; call 601-960-1557.

Power APAC Exhibit of Scholastics through April 18, at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). See artwork by Scholastic Art and Writing Awards winners. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sundays.

Free; call 601-960-5300.

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, URL, etc.) to events@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601-510-9019.

The deadline is noon the Thursday prior to the week of publication. Or, add the event online yourself; check out jfpevents.com for instructions.

BE THE CHANGE UMC Blood Drives. Mississippi Blood Services will be taking donations in a donor coach at two locations. Please bring ID. Free; call 888902-5663.

• April 1, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., at University of Mississippi Medical Center (2500 N. State St.), at Blair E. Batson Hospital.

• April 2, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.).

Mississippi Charity Horse Show April 1-3, 6 p.m., at Kirk Fordice Equine Center (Mississippi Fairgrounds, 1207 Mississippi St.).

See some of the best Tennessee walking horses from around the world. Proceeds benefit the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children.

Free, donations welcome; call 601-668-2520.

Wine and Cheese Arts Gala April 3, 6 p.m., at Jackson Street Gallery (500 Highway 51, Suite E, Ridgeland). Mac’s Cove Designer Fashion is hosting the event, which includes performances by a string quartet, a fashion exhibit, gourmet hors d’oeuvres and dishes prepared by Chef Christopher Banks. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Association. Tickets are available at Olga’s Restaurant, Jackson Street Gallery and Posh Boutique. $25; call 1-800-573-1840, ext. 0.

Mustard Seed Book Drive through April 5, at Borders (100 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood).

Donate books in good condition to the residents of The Mustard Seed. Donations welcome; call 601-992-3556.

books

by Brian Johnson

O

provided detailed information on the design of the bomb used on Nagasaki. But the most difficult challenge in building a bomb is acquiring and refining the fuel. Fuchs saved the Soviets time, but Gordin makes a convincing case that none of the spy data was crucial. As for the German contribution, the Soviets were too secretive and suspicious to make much use of the scientists they captured.

The Soviet effort was aided most by reports published openly by the American government.

Foremost of these was the history of the Manhattan Project by Princeton University physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth. While the report did not disclose technical specifications, it included everything from refineries to reactors, providing Soviet scientists with an invaluable road map enabling them to avoid the dead ends that doomed the Nazi atomic effort.

Soviet scientists were capable of developing the bomb on their own, as their later successes with the hydrogen bomb and Sputnik demonstrated. On August 29, 1949, an “incinerating light” seared the plains of Kazakhstan. The ground shook as a column of fire lifted a mushroom cloud into the sky.

Strangely, it was the Americans who announced the Soviet test, after American spy planes detected radioactive isotopes originating from central Asia. President Truman soon exposed the test to the world.

The end of the atomic monopoly virtually assured the development of the hydrogen bomb. In 1952, the U.S. tested a fusion device that was about 600 times larger than the first atomic bomb. The Soviets followed by eventually testing a 57-megaton bomb, more than 3,000 times larger than the Hiroshima bomb.

Most people fail to recognize that hydrogen bombs are far more destructive than the bombs the U.S. dropped on Japan.

The Soviet test marked the beginning of a huge expansion in nuclear weapons production. In 1949, the U.S. possessed a few hundred atomic bombs. By 1963, the U.S. had more than 30,000 nuclear warheads. The Soviets manufactured even more. Meanwhile, the two countries conducted more than 400 atmospheric tests and more than 1,000 tests underground. Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, radioactive fallout from the tests remains with us, and thousands of warheads are still ready to launch at a moment’s notice.

But “Red Cloud at Dawn” provides crucial insights into a period we tend to take for granted. Gordin reminds us how quickly and unpredictably the world changes. As we grapple with a new age of proliferation, “Red Cloud” warns us that a country determined to develop nuclear weapons will almost certainly succeed. It’s only a matter of time.

FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX

n July 24, 1945, President Harry Truman approached Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and told him the United States had developed a “new and powerful weapon.” After years of deceiving their Soviet allies, the Americans confessed that they had successfully tested the world’s first atomic bomb the week before. To Truman’s surprise, Stalin was unmoved by the news.

Only later would the Americans discover that Stalin already knew about the atomic bomb, thanks to Soviet spies. In fact, the Soviets were already hard at work on their own bomb.

“Red Cloud at Dawn: Truman, Stalin, and the End of the Atomic Monopoly” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009, $28) by Michael D. Gordin, describes the early years of the atomic age, when the U.S. had a monopoly on nuclear weapons.

Gordin describes his book as the biography of a bomb, and the book necessarily moves through a shifting cast of characters, none of whom are brought into sustained focus. The U.S. monopoly ended four years later, when the Soviets tested their own atomic bomb. That test, called First Lightning, turned American strategy on its head and transformed the Cold War into a nuclear conflict.

The U.S. had counted on its monopoly lasting longer. Americans could not match the Red Army tank for tank, but atomic weapons balanced the strategic equation, without the need for a massive buildup in conventional arms. The trillion-dollar question was how long the monopoly would last.

The U.S. had virtually no spies within the Soviet Union at this time, so all they could do was guess. American scientists warned that Soviets had the expertise to develop a bomb within five years. Leslie Groves, the “atomic general” who had managed the Manhattan Project, countered that it would be 20 years.

Most estimates said more about complacent American attitudes toward Soviet scientific prowess than anything else.

The Soviets project was under the supervision of Lavrenti Beria, who “exemplified brutal efficiency in organizing individuals.” As the head of the NKVD, which was later renamed the KGB, Beria oversaw the execution of thousands in the 1930s, starting with the man he replaced. By the time he took over the bomb effort, Beria was feared nearly as much as Stalin. Beria expected results, and everyone involved in the project knew that failure would be hazardous to their health.

One of the lingering questions about the Soviet effort is how much it relied on assistance from outside sources, especially spies and German scientists. By far the most damaging spy was Klaus Fuchs, a German-born physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project. Fuchs

Express Lunch

Theatre Company 203 Black St. Brandon

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2010 SEASON

Entree, 2 Sides, Bread and Tea

Workshop with Bill Fabris (stage director) April 10 at 7:30 - 9:30pm Cost: $25 E-mail lvick@fbcj.org for registration form

Steel Magnolias April 23, 24 & 30, May 1 at 7:30pm and April 25 and May 2 at 2pm

TALENT SHOWCASE

It’s Fast or It’s Free!

May 1 at 10am - 5:00pm Cost: $5 (Snacks, Homemade goodies, Silent auction and LOTS of great entertainment available)

BRYTE Performances May 14 & 15 at 7pm

Black Rose Summer Camp (June 28 - July 2)

LIVE MUSIC March 31

$3 MARGARITAS 5402 I-55 Frontage Road Jackson MS st eamro o mgrille.co m

Grades 2-5 (9-11:30am) Grades 6-12 (1-4pm) Cost: $80 (Audition Tips, Stage Presence, Diction, etc.)

Great learning environment and lots of fun!

601-825-1293 blackrosetheatre.org

The Journey invites you to join us on Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. for communion and prayer in observance of Good Friday. We are now located at 4101 Northview Drive, Suite C-2, in Center Square Shopping Center.

Join us again on Suday, April 4 at noon in the Pavillion at Mayes Lake as we celebrate Easter. We will be serving a bbq lunch and will have games for the kids. Following lunch, we will have a service with music and the Easter story as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour followed by a Baptism service. Please bring your own blanket or chairs. Mayes Lake is located behind LeFleurs Bluff Park at the end of Lakeland Terrace off Lakeland Drive. The Easter service will be held in lieu of the morning and evening services.

PETRIFIED FOREST Registered National Natural Landmark

124 Forest Park Road Flora, MS 39071 Website: www.mspetrifiedforest.com Phone: 601-879-8189

jacksonfreepress.com

Biography of a Bomb

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music

by ShaWanda Jacome

COURTESY: TOBYMAC

Let Down the Walls

A

melodic and stirring female voice pierced through the darkness of the pavilion, “Turn on, turn on, the ignition,” and then the band hit hard, loud and strong. A mix of base beats, guitars, flashing bright lights, images projected on three screens, and the crowd erupts as TobyMac appeared center stage.

That was two years ago in Davis, Calif. In a sea of people of different races, genders and age groups, we came together to have fun and raise our hands in praise.

TobyMac, aka Toby McKeehan, is a consummate performer who can rock a stage like nobody’s business, with his soulful swagger and ever-present Kangol hat. A force in the Christian-hip hop scene for more than two decades, he dances with boundless energy and belts out his lyrics with fervor and sincerity.

April 1 - 7, 2010

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What’s the common thread on your new album, “Tonight”?

It’s sort of snapshots of my life. The things I’ve been experiencing, situations I’ve found myself in, the mistakes I’ve made, relationships I have, the times I’ve been there for my friends and the times I’ve failed to be there

Friday night at 10 p.m.

George was been working Jackson clubs since he co-founded Beanland in 1985. Since then, he’s played with the Kudzu Kings and served as Widespread Panic’s lead guitarist from 2002-2006. Check out his latest wares at georgemcconnell.com.

Every Friday in April, Club Fire & Rock 93.9 will host a Battle of the Bands competition. If your band is looking to make it big in the Jackson rock scene, contact Fire to participate.

Outlaw garage-country favorite Willie Heath Neal returns to Ole Tavern this Friday night, 10 p.m. Think of a modern-day, whiskey-soaked Johnny Cash or Waylon Jennings with enough honky-tonk to have opened for folks like the Rev. Horton Heat.

Willie Heath Neal goes all in and leaves sweat and blood on the stage.

Be sure to check out the Atlanta-based all-girl party-punk group The Coathangers at Ole Tavern Saturday night. They’ll be stopping through after a round at South

for my friends ... It’s how I’ve been living the past two years and what’s come out of that. ... It’s also sort of my view of society; it’s not just my life. It’s viewing society and watching people. I think about what my friends might be going through. And the way it ends up in a song is that a thought comes to me, or a situation, and I turn that thought into a chorus.

Usually there’s some kind of resolve of some situation, whether it’s my own lack of faith or whether my friend’s making bad choices and losing his marriage.

I put that out there because I figure everyone is going through those things and for me there’s a resolve in my faith. There always has been. I don’t try to beat people over the head with it or proselytize. There is a resolve that naturally works its way into my songs because it’s who I am.

What responsibility does the church have in modeling racial unity?

First, we have to let down the walls that we’ve built up, let go of the things that divide us. The church’s role is simply to love well, regardless of skin color. It doesn’t mean everybody should stop their church and start a new one in the city, but it might mean that to some people. It doesn’t mean that the black church— that has a wonderful heritage and all these amazing gospel songs—needs to stop tomorrow and be a blended church. I wouldn’t say that I want any church’s traditions to stop, but I think there are some ugly traditions that we could let go.

I’d read about New Hope Academy.

What steps can communities take to

by Southwest to perform with The Quills and Senryu. It will be an evening of highcaliber alternative music. Listen to them at thecoathangers.com.

If you prefer to hear blues Saturday night, the King Edward Blues Band will play at Underground 119, 9-1 a.m. $10; and the Jarekus Singleton Band is the late night show at F. Jones Corner.

For a sophisticated yet cheap date gig, try the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band and the 20-plus-piece big-band group Mississippi Swing at the Belhaven Center for the Arts on Riverside Drive Saturday, 7 p.m., for free, www.mcsb.us.

Next Saturday, April 10, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra will present their intimate Chamber IV concert at the historic Woodworth Chapel at Tougaloo College, 7:30 p.m. $15, 601-960-1565.

The concert will feature chamber music for string, brass and woodwind quartets with a Brahms Piano Quintet showcase performance. Tickets will be available at the door.

Grammy Award-winning gospel/R&B duo BeBe and CeCe Winans will perform

promote diversity in schools?

People need to step out of their comfort zones. My prescription for this might not be right for everyone; I’m not acting like I have all the answers. I can just tell you from my life that when I began to step outside my comfort zone and make my world diverse—and do it with intent—my life has become enriched.

I feel like I live a rich life. I feel like I’m learning things all the time … that are interesting and endearing in my Filipino friends, in my African American friends, in my Latino friends. … I love the richness of it all versus judging someone.

Amidst all the struggles, how does a person keep their faith?

I don’t think the promise is that we won’t experience hardship. I don’t think the promise is that we won’t experience disaster or death; I think the promise is that God’s got us in his hands. And that’s the promise that I hold onto, that’s how I keep my faith.

What’s your overall message?

Love others well and love God will all my heart. I am clearly not a perfect man; clearly, I stumble, I fall. But I think the most important thing for people to know in the midst of this crazy world, I founded my life through the spirit of God, through his son Christ. It works for me. I can only talk from my life, it grounds me and offers me peace and offers me satisfaction.

See TobyMac on the Awake Tonight tour at the Mississippi Coliseum April 3. Skillet opens the show at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $75, and are available through ticketmaster.com.

COURTESY OF BRUCE NEWMAN.

T

here’s no better way to spend April Fool’s Day evening than at Fondren After 5, Thursday from 5-8 p.m. when Fondren businesses stay open late. Be sure to catch The Used Goods at Sal & Mookie’s during the event. Later, head to Hal & Mal’s for the return of singer/ songwriter Edwin McCain and his band at 9 p.m. The show follows the release of his new album, “Best of Edwin McCain.”

If your looking for free Thursday night entertainment, see guitar bluesman Jesse Robinson at Underground 119 from 8-11 p.m., harp icon Fingers Taylor at the Soulshine Pizza on Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland from 7-9:30 p.m., or classic rock singer/songwriter Larry Brewer of The Rainmakers at The Auditorium.

Martin’s brings back legendary Mississippi jam-man George McConnell

McKeehan, 45, began making music in 1987 as part of the Christian trio dcTalk. The award-winning group amicably separated in 2000 to pursue solo projects.

With a hip-hop, rock, funk and soul vibe, McKeehan has released four albums including “Tonight,” which hit stores in February. As a solo artist, he has been nominated for six Grammy awards; “Alive and Transported” won for Best Rock or Gospel Album in 2009.

McKeehan not only has a conviction for his faith, but for racial unity, which is reflected in his music and in the members of his band, the Diverse City Band or Diverse Citizens.

He also lends his name and talents to helping those in need. He is donating the proceeds from his Jan. 26 single, “Get Back Up,” to relief efforts in Haiti. He’s also training for the April Run for Hope marathon that raises funds for New Hope Academy, a faith-based school whose mission is bridging the gap between poverty and academic opportunities.

McKeehan, his wife, Amanda, and their five children live in Franklin, Tenn. His oldest son Truett, aka TruDog, 11, has recorded tracks on seven of his dad’s albums.

Despite his accolades and fame, did not show a trace of pretentiousness during our interview, as he talked about his new album, faith and racial diversity.

Guitar-jam guru George McConnell returns to Martin’s this Friday night.

at the Jackson Convention Complex next Saturday, April 10, 8 p.m. Tickets are available at Be-Bop Record shops.

Be sure to add these upcoming dates to your calendar: the Operation Shoestring Benefit with Horse Trailer and the very fun, classic old-school soul band Wiley & the Checkmates on April 16 at the Mississippi Museum of Art; the 30th annual Alcorn Jazz Festival will be at the Vicksburg Convention Center Saturday, April 17; also on April 17, indie-pop group Manchester Orchestra will be at the Lyric in Oxford.

—Herman Snell

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 Bach stradivarius trombone Bach Stradivarius professional trombone w/ F -rotary valve, Excellent condition. Dynamic tonal quality. $1,600.00 - Call:- 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 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 Grand Piano Needed Children’s Charity Organization needs small grand piano for its teaching space. Tax deductable! Call Royce, 601-594-2902 (601) 594-2902 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 Rock Singer Available Male Rock/Metal Singer looking for experienced cover band. Many years experience. Contact myspace or facebook: Crystal Quazar. Phone: 601-572-6253

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 looking to start a band in Jackson area...need guitarist..drummer...and lead vocals.......no specific genre preferred but will be based on rock and metal.(no death or black metal)...ive played in several bands and played out hundreds of times.....i can get gigs...if interested or for more info please call Chris @ 386-365-2944 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.

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.

MUSICIANS WANTED A New Sound Need original band. Old Deftones/old Clutch/ She Wants Revenge. www.myspace.com/anzalduasongs Radio-play. Album on iTunes. anzaldua@mail.com (512) 787-7840 Deathcore guitarists Metal band looking for 2 exp’d guitarists. Influences include WhiteChapel, Carnifex, Opeth, etc.

Call David for more info (601) 201-3815 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 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 ext. 11.

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

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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

Karaoke w/ Mike Mott THURSDAY - APRIL 1

DYLAN MOSS PROJECT

ALL SHOWS 10PM UNLESS NOTED WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY - MARCH 31

LADIES NIGHT (FREE DRAFT CUP 9-11) 3/31

LADIES NIGHT

FRI. & SAT. - APRIL 2 & 3

THE COLONELS

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

APRIL 1, THURSDAY

4/1

80’S NIGHT DIFFERENT THEME EACH WEEK FRIDAY

SATURDAY

- Voted Best Country Band 2010 -

4/2

GEORGE MCCONNELL BAND 4/3

SUN. & MON. - APRIL 4 & 5

2 for 1 Domestics TUESDAY - APRIL 6

Pool League Night 2636 S. Gallatin Jackson, MS 39204

601-961-4747

www.myspace.com/popsaroundthecorner

ROCKET 88 2010 TACO BELL

Battle of the Bands

OPEN AUDITIONS This Friday - 7pm at Fire SUNDAY

4/4

WWW.ROCK939.COM FOR RULES & DETAILS

KARAOKE TOPTEN MONDAY

4/5

OPEN MIC JAM TUESDAY

4/6

MATT’S LATE NIGHT KARAOKE $2 MARGARITAS $1 HIGHLIFE & PBR WEDNESDAY

4/7

LADIES NIGHT April 1 - 7, 2010

LADIES DRINK ALL YOU CAN

38

8PM-12AM FOR $5 - NO COVER 214 S. STATE ST. • 601.354.9712 DOWNTOWN JACKSON WWW.MARTINSLOUNGE.NET

MARCH 31, WEDNESDAY F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free Fenian’s - Joe Carroll (blues) 8-11 p.m.

Underground 119 - Bill & Temperance (bluegrass) 8-11 p.m. free Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Amir Gwirtzman, Raphael Seemes+ 7:30 p.m. free Shucker’s - DoubleShotz 7:30-11:30 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-12 a.m.

Kathryn’s - Hunter Gibson 6:30-9:30 p.m.

The Auditorium - Karaoke 9-12 a.m.

Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. myspace.com/snazzband2 Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Electric Cowboy - Karaoke Time Out - Chad Wesley 8:30 p.m.

SONGS THIS WEEK 1 ALICE IN CHAINS – Your Decision 2 CHEVELLE – Letter From A Thief 3 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – Walk Away 4 GODSMACK – Cryin Like A Bitch 5 DROWNING POOL – Feel Like I Do 6 BREAKING BENJAMIN – Give Me A Sign (Forever and Ever) 7 SICK PUPPIES – Odd One 8 JANUS - Eyesore 9 SHAMAN’S HARVEST - Dragonfly 10 SEASONS AFTER - Cry Little Sister

Hal & Mal’s Big Room - Edwin McCain 9 p.m.

Sal & Mookie’s - The Used Goods 5-8 p.m. (Fondren After 5) F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free; Blues at Sunset Challenge Band 8-12 a.m. free Fire - Dance Night $5 Martin’s - ‘80s night 10 p.m. free Lumpkins BBQ - Jesse Robinson (blues lunch) 11:30-1:30 p.m. free 930 Blues Cafe - Jackie Bell, Norman Clark & Smoke Stack Lightning 8 p.m. $5 Underground 119 - Jesse Robinson (blues) 8-11 p.m. free Soulshine, Township - Fingers Taylor & friends 7-9:30 p.m. free The Auditorium - Tiger Rogers (lunch); Larry Brewer (classic rock) 7:30-9 p.m.

Shucker’s - Gravity 7:30-11:30 p.m. free Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m.

Cherokee Inn - D’lo Trio (Americana) 6:30 p.m.

Regency Hotel - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Dreamz - Akami & the Key of G (R&B) 9 p.m.

Pop’s - Dylan Moss Project Poets II - Karaoke 10 p.m.

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

McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Union Street Books, Canton - Open Mic 7-9 p.m. 601-859-8596 Eli’s Treehouse, V’burg - Karaoke 8 p.m.

APRIL 2, FRIDAY Martin’s - George McConnell Band (rock) 10 p.m. georgemcconnell.com Ole Tavern - Willie Heath Neal+ 10 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Scott Albert Johnson (blues/juke) 9 p.m. free Hal & Mal’s Red Room - Dirt Road Jam Band 9 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Stevie J (blues lunch/solo) noon; Stevie J & the Blues Eruption 11:30-4 a.m. $5 Underground 119 - Chris Gill & the Soulshakers (blues) 9-1 a.m. $10 Fire - Rock 93.9 Battle of the Bands 9 p.m.

Shucker’s - Hunter Gibson & the Gators 8-1 a.m. $5 930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, 9 p.m. $10 The Auditorium - Tiger Rogers (lunch); Virgil Brawley (blues rock) 7:30-9 p.m.; Eddie Cotton (blues) 9:30 p.m.

Schimmel’s - DJ Unpredictable 10 p.m.

Touch Nightclub - DJ T. Lewis 9 p.m.

Pop’s - The Colonels Electric Cowboy - DJ Terry (country/dance/rock) 9 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 9-1 a.m. free Dick & Jane’s - Show Night/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Regency Hotel - Faze 4 Cultural Expressions - Reggae/HipHop/Old School Night 10 p.m. $5 Reed Pierce’s - Fade 2 Blue 9 p.m. free RJ Barrel - Larry McCann No Smoking Smoke House, 209 Main St., Yazoo City - Open Mic 6 p.m. free, 601-571-7937 Bottleneck, Ameristar - Hip Kitty (rock)

Petra Cafe, Clinton - Karaoke 8 p.m.

Reed Pierce’s - Fade 2 Blue 9 p.m. free RJ Barrel - Karaoke 7 p.m.

Bottleneck, Ameristar - Hip Kitty (rock)

APRIL 4, SUNDAY King Edward Hotel - Howard Jones Trio (jazz brunch) 11-2 p.m.

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 - Will & Linda 3-7 p.m. free The Hill - Open Blues Jam 6-11 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 7-11 p.m. free Cultural Expressions - Open Mic Poetry 8 p.m. $5

APRIL 5, MONDAY Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Central Miss. Blues Society Jam 8-11 p.m. $5 F. Jones Corner - Stevie J (blues lunch) free Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 8-12 a.m. free Martin’s - Open Mic Free Jam 10 p.m. free Fenian’s - Karaoke 8-1 a.m.

Dreamz - Marley Mondays/DJ (world) 6 p.m.

APRIL 3, SATURDAY Jackson Coliseum - tobyMac, Skillet, House of Heroes 7 p.m.

Ole Tavern - The Coathangers, The Quills, Senryu 10 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - The Church Keys 9 p.m. free thechurchkeys.com F. Jones Corner - The Jarekus Singleton Band (blues) 11:30-4 a.m. $5 Belhaven Center for the Arts Miss. Community Symphonic Band w/Miss. Swing 7 p.m. free www.mcsb.us Martin’s - Rocket 88 (roots rock) 10 p.m. $5 rocket88music.com Underground 119 - King Edward (blues) 9-1 a.m. $10 Sam’s Lounge - Acirema 10 p.m.

Mardi Gras - Chrisette Michele 9 p.m.

Shucker’s - Mike & Marty 3-7 p.m. free; Hunter Gibson & the Gators 8-1 a.m. $5 The Auditorium - Shane & Frazier 7:30-9 p.m.; Eddie Cotton (blues) 9:30 p.m.

Pop’s - The Colonels 930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, 9 p.m. $10 Cultural Expressions - Kamikaze & Yardboy (hip-hop/Soul) 9 p.m. $5 Fitzgerald’s - Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-12 a.m.

Huntington’s - Ralph Miller 6-9 p.m.

Dick & Jane’s - House Party/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Regency Hotel - Faze 4

4/02 King Khan & the Shrines - Hi-Tone, Memphis 4/02 Ted Leo - One Eyed Jack’s, New Orleans 4/07 Yeasayer - Hi-Tone, Memphis 4/09 Vampire Weekend - House of Blues, N.O. 4/09 The Black Lips - Hi-Tone, Memphis 4/13 Ani DiFranco - New Daisy, Memphis 4/15 Acid Mother’s Temple - Hi-Tone, Memphis 4/16-18 Coachella Music Festival - Indio, CA coachella.com

APRIL 6, TUESDAY F. Jones Corner - Amazing Lazy Boi (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. free Pizza Inn, Madison - Larry Brewer (classic rock) 6-8:30 p.m. free Bonnie Blairs Irish Pub - Shaun Patterson 7-10 p.m.

Lumpkin’s BBQ - BBQ Blues Jam 9-11:30 p.m. $5 Shucker’s - The Extremez 7:30-11:30 p.m. free Time Out - Open Mic 8 p.m.

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

APRIL 7, WEDNESDAY F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Natalie Long & Clinton Kathryn’s - Hunter Gibson 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Underground 119 - Bill & Temperance (bluegrass) 8-11 p.m. free Shucker’s - Hunter Gibson & Larry Brewer 7:30-11:30 p.m. free The Auditorium - Karaoke 9-12 a.m.

Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. myspace.com/snazzband2 Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Electric Cowboy - Karaoke

venuelist Wednesday, March 31st 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. 601-956-2803 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 1428 Old Square 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 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 Pool Hall 3716 I-55 North Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-713-2708 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 Top Notch Sports Bar 109 Culley Dr., Jackson, 601- 362-0706 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 8:30 pm - Guys’ Cover $5

BUY 1 GET 1 WELLS Thursday, April 1st

Bike Night w/ Krazy Karaoke

Weekly Lunch Specials

7:00 pm - No Cover

$2 MARGARITAS! Fri. & Sat., Apirl 2nd & 3rd

Parking now on side of building

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm thursday

FAZE 4 8:30 pm - $5 cover Exquisite Dining at

The Rio Grande Restaurant

APRIL 1

LADIES NIGHT with MR. NICK! LADIES DRINK FREE WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM

friday

400 Greymont Ave., Jackson 601-969-2141 www.regencyjackson.com

DIRECT T.V. MEGA MARCH MADNE SS PKG. NIT TOURNEY & NCAA TOURNEY

APRIL 2

Willie Heath Neal saturday

APRIL 3

lunch specials $7.95 - includes tea & dessert

Smoke-free lunch

The Coathangers

$10 Buckets of Beer during Tournaments

with the Quills and Senryu

weekdays 11am-3pm

WED. LADIES NIGHT & KARAOKE

THURS. $1.50 BEER (BUD, BUD LIGHT, BUD SELECT & ULTRA)

tuesday

APRIL 6

FRI.

JASON TURNER BAND 9:30PM - 1:30AM NO COVER CHARGE

COLLEGE NIGHT BRING STUDENT ID

SAT.

NCAA

BASKETBALL

MON. S.I.N. NIGHT TUES. JACKPOT TRIVIA

OPEN MIC with Cody Cox

*DOLLAR BEER* wednesday APRIL 7

Kick Ass Karaoke WITH KJ JOOSY

$2 DOMESTICS

ON SUNDAY, BLOODY MARYS $4 & MIMOSAS $3 THURSDAY 2-FOR-1 MONDAYS, $1.50 PINTS ON

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

jacksonfreepress.com

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 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 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) 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) 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)

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dining

We Do It All!

by Lisa LaFontaine Bynum

Say Cheese … Cake, That Is B O X I N G M AT C H Saturday, April 3rd - 8pm

$2 Off Lunch Buffet

Hot Lunches and Dinners, Catering, Meals-To-Go, Rent-A-Chef, Gourmet Foods

Choose between 2 meats and 3 vegetables.

Includes beverage (non-alcoholic) - Offer expires April 16, 2010 -

Full Bar & Kitchen Open til 2am everyday

HAPPY HOUR Mon. - Sat. | 2-7pm

1428 Old Square Road in Jackson 601.713.2700 lastcallsportsgrill.com

TWO FREE DRAFT BEER MUGS When you buy any menu item over $8 after 8pm every Fri. and Sat.

For catering, 601-978-7878 5050 I-55 N Jackson, MS www.foodiesjackson.com

days

Daily Lunch Specials - $9 Happy Hour Hour Everyday Everyday 4-7 4-7 Happy LIVE MUSIC Every Tues. thru Sat. LATE NIGHT HAPPY HOUR Sun. thru Thurs. 10pm - 12am Two-for-One, YOU CALL IT!

April 1 - 7, 2010

“BADGE SPECIAL” Military, Fire, Police, & Emergency Personnel 2-for-1 drinks all day, everyday!

40

SURE IS A LONG TIME! (SEE YOU ON MONDAY)

4949 Old Canton Road | 601-956-5108

601.978.1839 6270 Old Canton Rd. Jackson, MS 39211

www.briarwoodwineandspirits.com NATHAN S. M C HARDY & LESLEY M C HARDY OWNERS & SOMMELIERS

CLIPART

E

HOPKINS VS. JONES

very year as the temperatures rise and the Easter baskets start appearing, I find myself obsessing over cheesecakes. A very basic cheesecake consists of a graham cracker crust with a smooth cream-cheese filling. However, that basic recipe can be morphed and adapted into a thousand different formulations, creating a virtual blank canvas for any culinary artist.

The cooking method and ingredients used depend on the region and the culture the cake was baked in. New York-style cheesecake is made of cream cheese, eggs and egg yolks, and heavy cream. Most frozen cheesecakes are made using the sourcream style, which uses sour cream instead of heavy cream, making the dessert more resilient to freezing. Pennsylvania Dutchstyle cheesecake uses a cheese with larger curds and less water, known as farmer’s cheese. This adds a slightly tangy flavor to the cheesecake. Philadelphia-style cheesecake is lighter in texture, yet richer in flavor than New York-style cheesecake. British natives prefer the non-baked version, adding gelatin to their filling to keep it firm. Italians forgo cream cheese altogether and opt for creamy ricotta.

Have you ever pulled a perfect cheesecake from the oven only to come back later to discover a huge crack in the center? This can happen for two reasons: over-mixing the batter and moisture loss during baking. Beat your ingredients at a low speed to prevent incorporating too much air into the mixture. Find a pan large enough to hold your springform pan (a disposable roasting pan works well if you don’t have another cake

pan big enough). Wrap the bottom of your springform pan in aluminum foil (because you don’t want your water bath leaking into your cheesecake). Set the springform pan inside the larger pan and fill the larger pan with enough water to go up halfway up the sides of your springform pan.

Once your cheesecake has finished baking, turn the oven off, leave the oven door ajar, and allow the cheesecake to slowly cool in the oven. Resist the temptation to cut right in to your cheesecake. It needs several hours to cool and firm up to the right consistency.

Cheesecakes can be frozen for up to several months. Just place on a cookie sheet, freeze until firm, then wrap in heavy aluminum foil and place into a freezer bag. Thaw a frozen cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.

This cheesecake was aptly named after the ice cream my mother used to buy when I was a kid. Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry all in one, it was like getting three cartons of ice cream in the same container. With each bite of this creamy tri-colored cheesecake, you’ll get a little taste of something different.

The festive springtime colors make it the perfect dessert for an Easter meal.

NEOPOLITAN CHEESECAKE Makes 12-14 servings 1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs 5 tablespoons butter, melted, divided 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened ¾ cup sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, divided 2 1/2 squares (2 1/2 ounces) white baking chocolate, divided 1/3 cup mashed, sweetened strawberries 2 teaspoon shortening, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crumbs and three tablespoons of butter; press onto the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for eight minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

For the cheesecake, preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.

Divide cream-cheese batter into three portions of about 1 2/3 cup each.

In a double boiler over medium heat,

melt two squares of the semisweet chocolate. Stir into one portion of the cream cheese batter. Next, melt two squares of the white chocolate. Stir into the second portion of the cream cheese batter. Stir strawberries into the remaining batter.

Spread semisweet chocolate mixture evenly over the bottom of the graham cracker crust. Carefully top with white chocolate mixture, and then with strawberry mixture. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for an additional 50 to 55 minutes or until the center is nearly set. Allow cheesecake to cool. Run a knife along the edge of the cheesecake. Remove cheesecake from pan.

In a double boiler, melt remaining three squares of semisweet chocolate, remaining two tablespoons of butter and one teaspoon of shortening; allow to cool for two minutes. Pour over cake. Melt remaining half square of white chocolate and remaining teaspoon of shortening; drizzle over semisweet chocolate glaze.

Refrigerate leftovers.

s

Zydeco

(6340 Ridgewood Ct. 601-977-9920) Authentic Cajun/Creole cuisine including favorites like our Andouille & shrimp Jambalaya, Crawfish Etoufee, Red Beans & Rice, Seafood Gumbo, Shrimp PoBoy, Oyster PoBoy, Blackened Ribeye and more.

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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

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HAVE A BLESSED EASTER!

COFFEE HOUSES 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.

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!

Crazy Cat Bakers (Highland Village Suite #173 601-362-7448 & Fondren Corner Bldg) Amazing sandwiches: Meatloaf Panini, Mediterranean Vegetarian, Rotisserie Chicken to gourmet pimento cheese. Outlandish desserts. Now open in Fondren Corner on North State Street.

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.

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

“Now Dats Italian”

En

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

Tues-Thurs 5pm-9pm Fri & Sat 5pm-10pm

from the Belhaven bakery

601-919-2829

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

5417 Lakeland Drive ~ Flowood, MS 39232

Call Us: 601-352-2002

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. Bravo! walks away with tons of Best of Jackson awards every year.

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) “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!

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.

LUNCH: MON.-FRI., 10AM-2PM See Us Come kfast! a e r B r o F

7AM -10AM

168 W. Griffith St. • Sterling Towers Across from MC School of Law

601-352-2364 • Fax: 601-352-2365 Hours: Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm

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).

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.

DINE LOCAL, see pg. 42

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!

Best Butts In Town! since 1980

601-956-7079

1491 Canton Mart Rd. • Jackson

jacksonfreepress.com

BARS, PUBS & BURGERS

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THANK YOU FOR THE BEST OF

Paid advertising section.

JACKSON AWARDS NOMINATIONS

Home-Cooking T BUFFE- Friday

$8 Monday & only $10 Sunday

Italian Done Right.

“HOME OF THE BEST BRISKET IN JACKSON”

Remember you can buy our lasagna by the pan!

HOURS: Monday-Friday, 11am-3pm 182 Raymond Rd. | Jackson, MS 39204 Telephone: 601-373-7707 lumpkinsbbq@comcast.net

910 Lake Harbour Dr. Ridgeland | 601-956-2929 Monday - Saturday | 5 - until

BAKERS Now with TWO locations to better serve you

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still need help paying off our student loans

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NEW! FONDREN CORNER | 11AM - 2PM HIGHLAND VILLAGE | 10AM - 6PM 601.362.7448 • CRAZYCATBAKERS.COM

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

ASIAN

2003-2010, Best of Jackson

707 N. Congress Street Downtown Jackson • (601) 353-1180 Open 11am-2pm, Sunday thru Friday

Come see Why We Were Voted One Of Jackson’s Best Mediterranean Restaurants

April 1 - 7, 2010

Mediterranean & Lebanese Cuisine

42

Lunch starting at just $6 .99 Hours of Operation: Everyday 11am-until

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.

Ding How Asian Bistro (601-956-1717, 6955 Old Canton Rd, Suite C, Ridgeland) Dishes from Thai; Chinese; Japanese and Korean. All the dishes are prepared with healthy ingredients, offering low oil, low salt, no MSG cooking. Hong Kong-style dim sum on weekends.

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.

Nagoya (6351 I-55 North #131 @ Target Shopping Ctr. 601-977-8881) Nagoya gets high marks for its delicious-and-affordable sushi offerings, tasty lunch specials and high-flying hibachi room with satisfying flavors for the whole family.

Ichiban (153 Ridge Drive, Ste 105F 601-919-0097 & 359 Ridgeway 601-919-8879) Voted “Best Chinese” in 2010, cuisine styles at Ichiban actually range from Chinese to Japanese, including hibachi, sushi made fresh with seafood, and a crowd-pleasing buffet.

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.

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: cheesecake, Madison Mud and strawberry shortcake.

2010 Best Salon Best Hair Stylist

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THANK YOU FOR THE VOTES!

Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) 2010 Best of Jackson winner for fried chicken offers a sumptious buffet of your choice of veggies, a salad bar, iced tea & one of three homemade desserts. Lunch only. M-F 11-2, Sun. 10:30-2.

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.

Telephone:

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

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

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

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

932 Lynch Street in Jackson

1935 Lakeland Dr. 601.906.2253

(Across from the JSU Baseball Field)

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

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.

Kristos (971 Madison Ave @ Hwy 51, Madison, 601-605-2266) Home of the famous Greek meatball! Hummus, falafel, dolmas, pita sandwiches, salads, plus seasoned curly fries (or sweet potato fries) and amazing desserts.

Petra Cafe (104 West Leake Street, Clinton 601-925-0016) Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisine in the charm of Olde Towne Clinton. Stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie, shrimp kabobs, greek salads, hummus and more. Lunch and dinner served seven days a week.

PIZZA Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) Pizzas of all kinds, munchies, calzones, grilled hoagies, salads and more make up the extensive and “eclectic” menu at Mellow Mushroom. Award-winning beer selection. Dine in or carry out.

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.

ANCIENT BACTRIA ( A T ) PORTION OF ANCIENT FGHANISTAN AND AJIKISTAN WAS AN IMPORTANT TRADING CENTER BETWEEN 600BC AND 600AD BETWEEN EUROPE AND CHINA.

Spring Inventory: MIS TEE V-OUS, Rosalina, Snips n’ Snails, Double Daisies, Itzy Bitzy, Vistra’s, The Everyday Baby and more...

PEPPY & POSH’S STORE HOURS: Monday - Wednesday and Friday 10am - 6pm Saturdays 10am - 2pm (Closed on Thursday and Sunday)

305 Clinton Blvd. Clinton, MS • 601.924.2728

ROMAN GLASS SHARDS EXCAVATED AND CUT AFGHAN REFUGEES.

INTO GORGEOUS BEADS BY

398 Hwy. 51 • Ridgeland, MS (601)853-3299 • www.villagebeads.com

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 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. Weekly lunch specials push the envelope on creative and healthy; wonderful desserts!

Spring in a Cup! and all natural peanut butter monin.

ICED MINT COFFEE BREVE Traditional cold drip french roast iced coffee, blended with half-and-half and sweetened with all natural frosted mint monin.

LONDON FOG Earl Grey tea steeped in steamed milk and sweetened with all natural vanilla monin.

SUGAR FREE PENGUIN MOCHA Cups fresh roasted espresso, blended with steamed skim milk and sweetened with sugar-free white chocolate and sugar-free chocolate monin.

RED HEAD Au lait made with Cups fresh roasted coffee blended with steamed milk, creamy caramel and all natural cinnamon monin. A Cups Original!

DAISY MAE Cups classic creamy vanilla frozen treat blended with all natural strawberry monin. free wireless internet

jacksonfreepress.com

PEANUT BUTTER WHITE MOCHA Cups fresh roasted espresso blended with ghirardelli white chocolate, steamed milk

43

sports

by John Yargo

NOW OPEN ON SUNDAYS!

Dinner Entrees Served All Day! Beef Boxty- $10.99 Tender beef stuffed potato pancake

Irish Stew- $8.49

Traditional lamb stew

Shepherd’s Pie$9.99

Better than Mom’s

WEDNESDAY3/31

Joe Carroll (Blues)

THURSDAY 4/1

Jim Flanagan (Irish Folj) FRIDAY 4/2

Nekisopaya (Jazz) SATURDAY 4/3

3 Hail Mary Jane

MARTYNA BORKOWSKI

Coping with a Busted Bracket

Former Major League Baseball player, manager and Hall-of-Famer Lawrence “Yogi” Berra is the king of the malapropism.

I

n the middle of the most exciting March Madness in recent memory, you tipped over your Abita Turbodog and nacho cheese. Your NCAA bracket, patiently researched and completed, is now covered in a gooey coat of Rotel dip. You lovingly scrape away the damage to find … devastation.

Kansas to win it all? Villanova to get past the first weekend? Good Ali Farokhmanesh, Batman!

Right about now you wish you had left the bracket beneath that cheese varnish where you couldn’t see it, right? That account manager in your office who picked Butler and Michigan State “because I drove a Ford in college” is looking like the sportsworld’s Nostradamus, isn’t he?

I would be lying if I told you I hadn’t heard stories like yours before. “The Great Sports Fan Brought Low” is one of the most clichéd and common themes in all of sports writing (see Bartman, Steve; Lakers fan Jack Nicholson in “Wolf ”).

Allow me to offer some advice.

I’ve chosen some quotes from Yogi Berra, the great Major League catcher who had more home runs than strikeouts five times in a season. Like Berra, you should take the long view: There will be more hits than strikeouts in your picking career.

I hope.

(Alternative)

Brunch 11am-3pm SUNDAY 4/4

OPEN ALL DAY 11am - Midnight MONDAY 4/5

Karaoke w/ Matt

April 1- 7 , 2010

TUESDAY 4/6

44

Open Mic w/ A Guy Named George

Put it into perspective “Slump? I ain’t in no slump... I just ain’t hitting.” -Yogi Berra Look on the bright side: You didn’t unveil your bracket to national coverage in the White House Map Room.

Barack Obama’s bracket has been devastated since the first weekend. He predicted that the Kansas Jayhawks would win it all, and ranked Villanova as a Final Four team. After the first weekend, His bracket dropped to 106,679 in ESPN’s rankings.

Of course, Obama will find it a lot easier to put a positive spin on the last two weeks. The president also took some time to watch a health-care bill pass in a U.S. House of Representatives vote. It’s been a seemingly unreachable ambition of numer-

ous presidents, Republican and Democrat, since the Roosevelt administration. (That would be Theodore Roosevelt, president from 1901 to 1908.)

Become nostalgic “Ninety percent of this game is half mental.” -Yogi Berra Think back over all your past achievements. Remember the game-winning shot in a pickup game in the seventh grade, or that improbable touchdown pass you threw in Madden.

No one can take away the year you picked 12 of the last 16, and that was after Duke broke your heart by losing on a buzzer-beater. When colleagues spoke about your picks, it was in hushed tones, as if they were witnessing firsthand the Aurora Borealis.

Now, your bracket has the stench of a loser, and you’ve become the Augur Winless.

Then again, you can always learn something from this year’s shortcomings.

There’s Always Next Year “The future ain’t what it used to be.”

-Yogi Berra You have more than 345 days until you get to pick your bracket again. You will experience some triumphs and defeats.

You will achieve some life milestones, like 1,000 days worked or 500 checks cashed in. In the meantime, it’s important that you keep your focus on what matters: next year’s bracket.

Do some soul-searching. Why favor the “chalk” so much? There seems to some favoritism given to Big East schools on your bracket. Gauge how teams began the year (Northern Iowa was ranked 28th overall in some polls) and how they ended it (Villanova’s slump), but don’t fall into traps where you entirely disregard the potential represented by the former or the impermanence of the latter.

Start researching early. Rarely are you going to think, while filling out your bracket, “I wish I knew less about the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh.”

Doctor S sez: Yeah, college baseball has been good, but now it’s time for the really good stuff.

THURSDAY, APRIL 1 Men’s college basketball, NIT championship, teams TBD (6 p.m., ESPN): If Ole Miss wins on Tuesday, the Rebels will play North Carolina or Rhode Island in the title game.

FRIDAY, APRIL 2 College baseball, Mississippi Valley State vs. Jackson State (6 p.m., Jackson): The Tigers and Delta Devils meet in the opening game of their SWAC series.

SATURDAY, APRIL 3 College baseball, Mississippi State at South Carolina (3 p.m., Columbia, S.C., SportSouth, 105.9 FM): The Bulldogs will face one of their toughest tests yet against the Gamecocks. … Men’s college basketball, NCAA Tournament, semifinals, Michigan State vs. Butler (5 p.m., Ch. 12) and Duke vs. West Virginia (7:30 p.m., Ch. 12): Did anybody expect these four teams to be in the Final Four? If you said yes, you’re lying.

SUNDAY, APRIL 4 MLB baseball, New York Yankees at Boston (7 p.m., ESPN2): The Yankees open their title defense against their biggest rival. Attention, ESPN: Baseball is played outside the Northeast.

MONDAY, APRIL 5 MLB baseball, St. Louis at Cincinnati (noon, ESPN): The Cardinals and Reds meet in baseball’s real season opener. … Men’s college basketball, NCAA Tournament, championship, teams TBD (8 p.m., Ch. 12): College hoops’ best battle for round ball supremacy.

TUESDAY, APRIL 6 College baseball, Belhaven at Mississippi College (6 p.m., Clinton): The Blazers and Choctaws battle for the Maloney Trophy. Wouldn’t a big-screen TV be a better prize? … Jackson State at Mississippi State (6 p.m., Starkville, 105.9 FM): The Tigers and Bulldogs renew their rivalry at Dudy Noble Field.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 College baseball, Southern Miss vs.

LSU (7 p.m., New Orleans, 103.9 FM): If you don’t go to the Big Easy, you can listen to the Golden Eagles on the radio … on the LSU network.

The Slate is compiled by Doctor S— between innings, of course. You’ll be safe at home at JFP Sports on www.jacksonfree press.com.

BY MATT JONES

ARIES (March 21-April 19) I’m worried about your ability to sneak and fake and dissemble. These skills seem to have atrophied in you. To quote Homer Simpson: “You couldn’t fool your own mother on the foolingest day of your life with an electrified fooling machine!” Please, Aries, jump back into the game-playing, BS-dispensing routine the rest of us are caught up in. April Fool! Everything I just said was a filthy lie. In fact, I admire the candor and straightforwardness you’ve been cultivating. My only critique is that maybe you could take some of the edge off it. Try telling the raw truth with more relaxed grace.

You’ll probably dream of falling off a cliff, or plunging out of a hot-air balloon or skydiving without a parachute. I’m very disappointed in your unconscious mind’s decision to expose yourself to such unpleasant experiences, even if they are pretend. April Fool!

I told you a half-truth. While it is likely that you will dream of diving off a mountaintop, or tumbling out of a hot-air balloon or flying through the big sky without a parachute, your unconscious mind has arranged it so that you will land softly and safely in a giant pile of foam padding and feathers next to a waterfall whose roaring flow is singing your name. Despite the apparent inconvenience in the first part of the dream, you will be taken care of by the end.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) On the “Ghost Hunters” TV program, paranormal researchers investigate places that others believe are haunted by supernatural entities. One commercial for the show urges us, the viewers, to “Get fluent in fear!”

That exhortation happens to be perfect advice for you, Gemini. April Fool! I lied. This is not at all a good time for you to get fluent in fear. But more than that, it’s actually a momentous time to get un-fluent in fear. You have an unprecedented opportunity to stop casually exposing yourself to anxiety-inducing influences. You have amazing power to shut down that place in your imagination where you generate your scary fantasies.

The conquest of your fears could be at hand.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Your gambling chakra is conspiring with your inner roughneck to pull a fast one on your dignity chakra and your inner wuss. If they get away with their scheme you may find yourself having ridiculous yet holy fun in high places.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if in the course of these hijinks, your spirit guides channeled some holistic karma into the part of your psychic anatomy that we in the consciousness business call your “spiritual orgy button.” April Fool! Sorry if that sounded a bit esoteric. I was invoking some faux shamanic jargon in the hope of bypassing your rational mind and tricking you into experiencing a fizzy, buoyant altered state, which would be an excellent tonic for both your mental and physical health.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) “I eat pressure for breakfast,” says Leo-born James Cameron, director of “Avatar” and “Titanic,” the two highest-grossing films ever made. Like many in your tribe, he has a very high opinion of himself. “Anybody can be a father or a husband,” he told his fourth wife, Linda Hamilton. “There are only five people in the world who can do what I do, and I’m going for that.” He’s your role model. April Fool! I lied. While I do urge you to focus intensely on the quality or talent that’s most special about you, I strongly discourage you from neglecting your more ordinary roles. In Cameron’s case, I’d advise him to start working on his next fantastic project but also spiff up his skills as a husband and father.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Do not, under any circumstances, express your anger at the mainstream media by taking a baseball bat into a superstore full of electronic gear and smashing 32 TV sets. Keep it to a minimum of 15 sets, please. April Fool!

I lied. I definitely don’t recommend that you smash any TVs with a baseball bat. However, you do have permission to bash and smash things in your imagination. In fact I encourage it. Engaging in a fantasy of breaking inanimate objects that symbolize what oppresses you will shatter a certain mental block that desperately needs shattering.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) As I studied your astrological data, a curious vision

popped into my mind’s eye: I saw a scene of a perky possum in a superhero costume giving you a tray of red Jello covered with marshmallows, gumdrops and chocolate kisses. And I knew immediately that it was a prime metaphor for your destiny right now. April Fool! I lied, sort of. Your imminent future may feature an unlikely offering from an unexpected source, but that offering will simply be like red Jello from a possum—with no superhero costume, and no marshmallows, gumdrops or chocolate kisses.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) I sincerely hope that 2010 will be the year you stop worshiping Satan for good. Luckily, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to get that worthy project in gear.

Despite the odd pleasures your twisted devotion to the Evil One seems to bring you, it actually undermines your ability to get what you want. The ironic fact of the matter is that pure unrepentant selfishness—the kind that Satan celebrates—is the worst possible way to achieve your selfish goals. April Fool! I know you don’t really worship Satan. I was just hoping to jolt you into considering my real desire for you, which is to achieve your selfish goals by cultivating more unselfishness.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) According to Uncyclopedia.com, “Riding the Snake” is a book co-authored by Oscar Wilde and Jesus Christ in 1429 B.C. If you can find a copy, I strongly suggest you read it. You could really use some help in taming the unruly kundalini that has been whipping you around.

April Fool! I lied. There is no such ancient book. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’d really benefit from getting more control over your instinctual energy. I’d love to see your libidinous power be more thoroughly harnessed in behalf of your creative expression.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Supermodel Selita Ebanks is your role model. In accordance with the astrological omens, I recommend that you arrange for the kind of special treatment she enjoys as she’s preparing for a runway show. That means getting five stylists to work for hours every day perfecting every aspect of your physical appearance. Please make sure they apply no less than 20 layers of makeup to your butt. April Fool! I lied. The omens say this is not a good time to obsess on your outer beauty. They do suggest, however, that attending to your inner beauty would be smart. So please do the equivalent of getting 20 layers of makeup applied to your soul’s butt.

“From Milk”—we derive these new phrases.

45 They’ll help serve your Earl Grey 46 ___ Hill (R&B group) 47 Container for stir-fried vegetables?

49 ___ Lateef of jazz 51 Get the engine humming 52 Takes more Time?

56 PG&E opponent Brockovich 57 Visit Vancouver, say?

61 Grub 62 Fill with passion 63 Moving vehicle 64 Porker’s pad 65 Raptor’s grabbers 66 Self-help workshop movement of the 1970s

Across 1 Type of garden with rocks 4 The Good Witch from “The Wizard of Oz” 10 ___ de mer 13 Double-bladed weapon 14 Tell on 15 She plays Liz on “30 Rock” 16 Chew toy on Batman’s utility belt?

18 MIT grad, maybe 19 Sportscaster Dick 20 Like screwball comedies 21 System with paddles and a joystick 24 Explorer Juan Ponce ___ 25 “Arrested Development” narrator Howard 26 Fish served in filets 31 Mad scientist who is the enemy of Action Man 32 Prof’s admission that someone’s helping him temporarily?

35 Soul great Redding 36 Swear like a sailor 37 Pulls a heist on 40 Halloween costume that includes big ears, dark clothing and a bunch of charts?

43 Digital camera variety, for short

Down

©2010 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@j onesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+.

Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #0454.

Last Week’s Answers

1 Turn sharply 2 Prefix for skeleton 3 Paycheck line 4 Semi-frozen drink similar to an Italian ice 5 Petting zoo critter 6 “Let ___” (Beatles hit) 7 Widow of King Hussein 8 Answer to the riddle, “What’s brown and sounds like a bell?”

9 Ending for emir

BY MATT JONES

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Would it be a wise idea for you to stage your own kidnapping and demand ransom money for your release?

Should you appear on a reality TV show that will expose your intimate secrets to millions of viewers? Could you get your spiritual evolution back on track by joining a religious cult? April Fool! The questions I just posed were terrible. They were irrelevant to the destiny you should be shaping for yourself. But they were provocative, and may, therefore, be the nudge you need to get smarter about formulating your choices. It has never been more important than it is right now for you to ask yourself good questions.

Last Week’s Answers

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) It’s an excellent time to demonstrate how strong and brave and indomitable you are. I suggest you carry out some heroic feat, like lying on a bed of nails while someone puts heavy concrete blocks all over your body, then uses a sledgehammer to smash those blocks.

April Fool! What I just said is only half true. While it’s an excellent time to prove your mettle, there are far more constructive ways to do it than lying on a bed of nails.

For example, you could try shaking off a bad influence that chronically saps your energy.

Get in the mood to see your life as a miracle. Listen to this: http://bit.ly/SongGlory

“Missing Links” Place the following fifteen letters into the grid so that, as in Scrabble, all sequences of two or more letters form English words. You must use all fifteen letters given and cannot move any of the letters already placed in the grid.

D N R

E O R

E O S

E P T

L P V

jacksonfreepress.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

10 Spoke indirectly 11 ___ Wat (Cambodian temple) 12 Voice box 15 Blue-green shade 17 That girl 20 Take a baby off the bottle 21 Jason’s ship 22 Car horn noise 23 Like some sci-fi boots 24 In the most desperate way 27 Tended to a scratch 28 She came between Hillary and Michelle 29 Dos that get picked out 30 Backup group 33 Spicy General on a menu 34 Raw metal source 38 Dull person 39 Double-___ (Oreos variety) 41 Type of convertible 42 Uses of mentally-based propaganda, in CIA-speak 43 Shopping binges 44 Give a good staredown (not!)

48 Groan-inducing jokes 50 Ensign’s org.

52 Novelist Jaffe 53 List-ending abbr.

54 Pitcher Hideo 55 Bernanke subj.

57 “___ Smart” 58 5th or Mad., e.g.

59 “___ Boot” 60 Picnic pest

45

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Alerted by neighbors that someone was breaking into their car, a couple in Lake City, Fla., used their entry remote control to lock the thief inside. “So every time he tried to get out of the car, the owners just kept hitting the lock button on their key fob, and eventually he gave up trying to get out,” Columbia County sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Seifert said after Travis James Neeley, 19, was arrested.

(The Gainesville Sun)

Get ’Em While They Last Canada’s Parliament reacted to a European Union ban on seal products by serving seal hors d’oeuvres and main dishes at its restaurant. Two dozen lawmakers attended a luncheon to eat seal and listen to speeches endorsing Canada’s annual seal hunt. “This support begins on the plates of Canadians,” federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea proclaimed while dining on medallions of double-smoked, bacon wrap seal loin in a port reduction. (Reuters)

Faith-Based Initiative Selective brain damage might influence spiritual and religious attitudes, according to an Italian study of patients before and after surgery for brain tumors. Researchers interested in linking brain activity and spirituality focused specifically on the personality trait called self-transcendence (ST), which is considered a measure of spiritual feeling, thinking and behavior. Reporting

in the journal Neuron, the researchers said they hoped their findings could lead to new strategies for treating some forms of mental illness. (Science Daily)

Second-Amendment Follies School district superintendent Dwain Haggard was showing his replica black powder muzzleloader to five high school students in Reed Point, Mont., when the gun fired and lodged a ball in the front wall of the classroom.

“I can’t explain how it was loaded,” Haggard said, insisting the students were “never really in danger.” (Billings Gazette)

Kicks Just Keep Getting Harder to Find After a mother caught Ralph Conone, 68, hitting her two boys, ages 6 and 7, at a Wal-Mart store in Columbus, Ohio, he admitted to police that he’d been punching children on the backs of their heads with his keys in his fist for months. “He stated that he does this because of the excitement of being able to do it and get away with it with the parents right there,” police Sgt. John Hurst said. Conone explained that he would wait until a parent wandered briefly out of sight of a child before striking the child with his keys between his fingers. When the child cried out, Conone would slip away unnoticed. (The Columbus Dispatch) Compiled from mainstream media sources

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