v13n18 Legislative Preview: Walking the Line by Jackson Free Press Magazine

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

TRIP BURNS

JACKSONIAN SEN. HILLMAN FRAZIER

ay 15, 1970, Hillman Frazier, then a junior at Jackson State University, returned to campus after dinner and encountered a roadblock. Students had spent the day protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, and local and state police were bracing for a clash with protesters. When the night was over, two young men, Phillip Gibbs and James Earl Green, with whom Frazier had a political-science class, had been killed. “One of the things that shooting did was it made us more focused. A lot of the student leaders at the time went on to graduate and law school,” says Frazier, who majored in political science at JSU, was active in student government and later attended George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. Frazier, 64, was born in Jackson. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a carpenter and, later, a Baptist minister. Despite the family’s Protestant faith, Frazier attended Holy Ghost Catholic School, St. Joseph Catholic School’s sister school for people of color. Today, Frazier’s office on the first floor of the Capitol is a shrine to his more than three decades in public service. After working for a legal services office and four years on state House Speaker C.B. “Buddie” Newman’s staff, Frazier ran successfully in 1979 for the Mississippi House of Representatives. Thirteen years later, Frazier won election to the state Senate.

CONTENTS

Much like his Capitol office, Frazier’s tenure in the state Legislature is a testament of preserving Mississippi’s civil-rights history through the legislative process, which is no easy feat. For example, he sponsored a resolution to recognize Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a state holiday, which met resistance from conservative lawmakers who argued that having another holiday would hurt the productivity of state employees. Frazier argued that recognizing Dr. King’s birthday wouldn’t cost a dime because the state already celebrated Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s birthday. Frazier, who traveled to South Africa to monitor the nation’s first post-apartheid election in 1994, also authored a bill to formally adopt the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which formally—albeit symbolically—abolished slavery in Mississippi in 1995. “I knew that if I’m going to go around the world telling folks about our great democracy, I knew that we had to correct certain things in my state,” Frazier says. Frazier’s love of history continues outside of the statehouse walls, where he spends his free time with his wife of 34 years, Jean, their adult children and two grandchildren, and tinkers on his classic cars. The senator says restoring cars helps him relax and that he is not interested in growing his hobby into a business. “I don’t want to mess up anybody else’s cars,” he says with a laugh. — R.L. Nave

Cover design by Kristin Brenemen

10 Inconvenient Truths

Mississippi officials fight federal carbon limits that could make the state cleaner and healthier.

24 Meant to Be

“I used to think of love just as an emotion; it is still an emotion, an incredible one, but also a commitment, a commitment we made to each other on our wedding —Sophia Halkias, “Meant to Be” day.”

25 New Ideas

When you travel to different places, you can often find ideas to bring back to your community to make it better.

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

4 ............................. EDITOR’S NOTE 6 ............................................ TALKS 12 ................................ EDITORIAL 13 .................................... OPINION 15 ............................ COVER STORY 24 .................................... HITCHED 25 ................... GIRL ABOUT TOWN 26 .............................. DIVERSIONS 27 ....................................... MUSIC 27 ....................... MUSIC LISTINGS 28 ....................................... 8 DAYS 29 ...................................... EVENTS 30 ..................................... SPORTS 31 .................................... PUZZLES 33 ....................................... ASTRO

JULIE SKIPPER; COURTESY SOPHIA HALKIAS; FLICKR/EMILIAN ROBERT VICOL

JANUARY 7 - 13, 2015 | VOL. 13 NO. 18

EDITOR’S note

by R.L. Nave, News Editor

Are Mississippi Officials Deadbeats?

few years ago, when the Illinois General Assembly was thinking about reforming the state’s child-support enforcement laws, I spent two or three days observing proceedings in family court. One after one, non-custodial parents, mostly men, whom a judge had ordered to start paying child support or face jail time, stood before stone-faced judges and either brandished proof of payment or had to explain their reasons for failing to meet their court-required obligation. Some of the men who stood in judgment spoke quietly about hard times and, in turn, falling behind on their support payments. They just needed a little more time to find a job or a better-paying one, and they would get back on schedule, the clearly embarrassed men promised. I described this category of father as “dead broke.” There was another category of childsupport scofflaws. These were guys who worked and were often professionals with well-paying jobs. Unlike the dead-broke dads, the deadbeats spoke loudly and brashly about their reasons for refusing to pay monthly support. A lot of those explanations had to do with how the court calculated their support (state law allowed payments of as much as 20 percent of gross income). Many of the dads wove tales of distrusting custodial parents with lump-sum payments and offered anecdotes of moms blowing cash on fancy new clothes; there was almost always a story about the presence of a new boyfriend. Illinois lawmakers wanted to amend child-support enforcement laws to distinguish between parents who are dead broke, who fell into hard times and couldn’t afford to make scheduled court-required payments, and deadbeats who can afford to pay but come up with excuses to withhold support from their children. This reminds me a lot of how Missis-

sippi historically fails to meet the basic needs of its citizens, who are at the bottom of every quality-of-life metric imaginable, including public education and health care. Of course, the reasons for this are complicated, rooted in an economy and social structure detrimentally dependent on slavery and, later, Jim Crow. So naturally, when the national economy falls on hard times, poor cities and states feel it most acutely. Nor does the blame lie at the foot of any one public official, po-

The sad part is the state is not broke. litical party or division of government. The situation in Mississippi may be dire, but it’s not hopeless. There are opportunities to drastically—not incrementally—improve things in Mississippi, but our leadership seems fixated on solutions looking for problems. For example, take our approach to paying for public education. Seventeen years ago, lawmakers—Democrats and Republicans— created and adopted the Mississippi Adequate Education Formula, known as MAEP. In that time span, lawmakers followed through on its obligations to schoolchildren by funding the plan—twice. As a result, advocates of full MAEP funding argue, public schools have been shorted $1.5 billion. That’s more money than Mississippi has in the bank, and cutting a check could wreak all kinds of fiscal havoc. But rather than reckoning with this reality, lawmakers in recent years have, like those deadbeat dads

I observed in court, sought to move the goal posts. A common tactic of Republican budget writers has been to divert attention off the failure to fund schools and question the validity or nitpick the inputs of the MAEP formula, which includes factors like average daily attendance and rates of free and reduced lunch. Another common refrain in the debate over the education formula is that local school officials would misspend adequate education funding on administrative overhead rather than put the money to use in classrooms, even though the proponents of this argument haven’t produced any evidence that such malfeasance occurs. It reminds me of one man I interviewed about child support whose excuse for not paying was that his ex-wife would probably buy drugs with the money, even though he admitted that he had no proof that the mother of his children was in fact a drug user. Mississippi’s health woes are so persistent that stories about diseases in which Mississippi leads the nation can just about write themselves every year. Again, Mississippi faces an opportunity to make strides by expanding access to state-sponsored health programs. The federal government is practically begging poor states with the worst health to allow Medicaid expansion by taking federal matching Medicaid funds. One reason: Our poor health inflates health-care premiums for everyone else. Of course, because of Medicaid expansion’s association with President Barack Obama,manyRepublicansfeellikeit’sano-win scenario for them, politically anyway. However, political leaders have not bothered to devise their own health-care expansion alternative, which Republicans could brand and market as their own antiObamacare solution. Even more puzzling is the Republican leadership’s rationale for resisting Medicaid expansion.

First, Gov. Haley Barbour commissioned a study that his administration interpreted as Medicaid expansion being too costly for the state. That study was ultimately panned because analysts did not consider the costs associated with lack of health insurance. Then, Gov. Phil Bryant and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves changed their tune, saying they didn’t trust the federal government to follow though on promises to pay for large chunks of the expansion should Mississippi choose to participate—a classic deadbeat-dad move. Last week, the Associated Press asked Gov. Bryant how he planned to solve persistent chronic poverty in the state. His answer: Intercept casino winnings of parents who owe back child support. “So you won’t be going around gambling and winning at the dice table and not taking care of your children,” he told the AP. One absurdity of the statement is that I doubt the governor has a shred of evidence that this is a serious problem in Mississippi beyond one or two anecdotal exceptions, shades of the voter-ID debate of a few years ago. Another is that it completely lets the state off the hook for its failure to take care of poor children, due in large part because of failures of policymakers over the years. The sad part is Mississippi is not broke. We have a robust rainy day fund, and we pay our bills on time and don’t have the same pension problems that some states, like Illinois, face. Yet, officials continue to shirk their obligations, and the rest of the nation has to support us. By the governor’s own definition, that makes Mississippi’s political leaders deadbeats. It’s unlikely that enormous strides will be made in this legislative session that coincides with a state election year. At some point, though, the state is going to have to start acting responsibly and meeting its obligations. Hopefully, lawmakers will start that process this year.

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

CONTRIBUTORS

Anna Wolfe

Sophia Halkias

Micah Smith

LaTonya Miller

Tommy Burton

Zilpha Young

Trip Burns

Latasha Willis

Investigative Reporter Anna Wolfe, a Tacoma, Wash., native, studied at Mississippi State. In her spare time, she complains about not having enough spare time. Email her at anna@ jacksonfreepress.com. She wrote the legislative preview.

Sophia Halkias lives in north Jackson in a ranch-style house with her husband, Neil, and dog, Buffy. She is working on completing the science course requirements for medical school. She wrote about her wedding for Hitched.

Music Editor Micah Smith is a big fan of small fans. His likes saying the word “milquetoast,” but it’s not as fun as it sounds. He also plays with the band Empty Atlas. He wrote an entertainment story.

LaTonya Miller is a freelance writer who is passionate about music, photography and all things positive. You can visit her anytime at her second home, online at etudelife.com. She wrote a music story.

Music Listings Editor Tommy Burton is keeping the dream alive, one record at a time. He can usually be seen with a pair of headphones on. He wrote an arts story and compiles the music listings. Send gig info to music@jacksonfreepress.com.

Ad Designer Zilpha Young has dabbled in every medium she could get her hands on, from blacksmithing to crocheting. To see some of her extracurricular work (and lots of cephalopods) check out zilphatastic.tumblr. com. She designed many ads.

Staff Photographer Trip Burns is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he studied English and sociology. He enjoys the films of Stanley Kubrick. He took many photos for the issue.

Events Editor Latasha Willis is a native Jacksonian, a freelance graphic designer and the mother of one cat. She helped compile event listings.

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Friday, January 2 California starts taking driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s license applications from the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest population of undocumented immigrants, estimated at 1.4 million people. â&#x20AC;Ś The U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on North Korea over the cyberattack against Sony, targeting the Northâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defense industry and spy service. Saturday, January 3 Iran and the U.S. agree on a formula to reduce Tehranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to make nuclear arms by shipping much of the material needed for such weapons to Russia. â&#x20AC;Ś Boko Haram extremists kidnap about 40 boys and young men and kill scores of soldiers in an attack on a multinational military base in northeast Nigeria.

January 7 - 13, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

Sunday, January 4 Thousands of police turn their backs as New York Mayor Bill de Blasio eulogizes Officer Wenjian Liu, an officer shot dead with his partner, in a display of scorn for the mayor despite entreaties to put anger aside.

Monday, January 5 Jury selection begins for the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Tuesday, January 6 Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ban on same-sex marriage ends statewide at the stroke of midnight. Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

by R.L. Nave

or the first time in a quarter century, proposals as easily as he can turn them out also formally announced last week with a Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ward 3 city council is not to the polls on Election Day. The ubiqui- press conference at the Genesis and Light occupied by an individual whose tous â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stokesâ&#x20AC;? campaign signs that remain Center, a senior-services center he founded surname is Stokes. posted throughout the ward even in non- and runs. The announcement was basically In fact, the near-west-side ward seat, election years donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurt, either. a formality; Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign signs went a longtime stronghold of the black community, is not currently occupied at all. Kenneth Stokes, the controversial official who has served on the city council and county board of supervisors, hopes to return to the seat, which his wife vacated to become a judge. Stokes, whose mother recently passed away, told the Jackson Advocate, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest black newspaper that has been a big supporter of The Ward 3 Jackson City Council race will feature at least three candidates who have run the Stokeses, that he wanted of the seat in the past. From left: Kenneth Stokes, Pam Greer and Albert Wilson. to keep the seat in the family because of traditions he and his wife are involved with such as the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celIn fact, all the announced candidates up soon after Cooper-Stokes officially reebration. His mother blessed the decision in the race, which will take place Jan. 27, signed her seat, and he has started to make before her recent death, he said. have competed in past elections. After more frequent appearances at city council â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to continue taking to the weeks of social-media buzz, Pam Greer con- meetings. Wilson also competed in the streets to encourage people to stop the vio- firmed last week that she would again seek special election for Jackson mayor after the lence. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a little thing that they the seat. Greer, who runs a foundation that death of Chokwe Lumumba in February. canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to pay their water bills. Our promotes anti-violence awareness and Candidates have until Wednesday, Jan. people are struggling just to get by,â&#x20AC;? Stokes support to families of violent crime vic- 7, to qualify for the race. If Stokes is successtold the Advocate. tims, ran in 2013 as well. LaRita Cooper- ful in his bid, a special election would have Stokes is likely the front-runner, given Stokes went on to capture the post after a to take place to fill his District 5 seat on the his name recognition and control of a politi- court fight with Joyce Jackson resulted in Hinds County Board of Supervisors. cal machine that can turn out supporters for a new election. Comment at www.jfp.ms. Email R.L. rallies and to speak favorably of legislative Another familiar face is Albert Wilson Nave at rlnave@jacksonfreepress.com.

The Best of the Jackson Free Press, 2014

he capital city metro is hungry for serious news and looking for a good time, at least based on last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jackson Free Press web and mobile stats. Here are the yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most viral stories and posts.

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January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

ike a comet that is only visible to Earth denizens only once in a while, the quadrennial event of the election-year legislative session has commenced. Capitol observers predict a fairly humdrum 90-day-session (see “Legislators on a Tightrope,” page 15), but that’s not to say that legislative deliberations won’t color election-year posturing, which has already started. As expected, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has said he would seek a second term as the state’s top executive. Bryant, who is known as a tea-party governor for his stances on socially conservative issues such as abortion and same-sex mar- Gov. Phil Bryant helps lead the Legislature on riage, appears to be attempting issues like education, taxes and corruption in to broaden his appeal with a state agencies as it moves into the new session. tax-cut proposal for workers in times of economic abundance. Bryant is throwing red meat to the that will change the state constitution to slash-and-burn fiscal conservatives by pro- require the Legislature to provide an “adposing tax breaks that, while small, would equate” and free education for Mississippi give a $921-a-year tax credit to a family of schoolchildren. The Legislature has the four with a household income of $52,000 option to add an additional amendment and a $75 credit to a single person with an on the ballot for funding education, but income of $14,590. public-school advocates believe the reason While the Republican gubernatorial they would do this is to confuse voters. contest will likely not see many surprises, Brandon Presley, a Democrat who a big question mark hangs over who will serves as Northern District commissioner represent the Democratic Party on next on the Mississippi Service Commission, November’s ballot, which will also feature recently announced that he would run for a ballot initiative about public-education another term on the PSC. Presley, whose funding, an important issue to Demo- name had been floating around as a poscrats’ base. sible Democratic challenger to Bryant, Because the Legislature is not likely to could have given the governor a run for fund education “adequately” as outlined in his money given Presley’s populist appeal MAEP, the public-school advocacy group and name recognition (he is a cousin of Better Schools Better Jobs has proposed rock legend Elvis Presley). an amendment for the November ballot With Attorney General Jim Hood,

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Waste Your Mind

oneqweesha Jones: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I recall a time when I brought in the new year uninspired, hopeless and alone watching a New Year program. New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day was just another day for me. At 12:05 a.m., a one-minute public-service announcement from the United Ghetto Science Community Post-Secondary Training College Fund changed my perspective. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The public-service announcement shared inspiring stories about two women. One was Madam C. J. Walker, regarded as the first female self-made millionaire in America who made her fortune by developing and marketing a successful line of beauty and hair products for black women. The other was Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, an African American journalist and newspaper editor who documented lynching in the United States, showing how it was often a way to control or punish blacks who competed with whites. The public-service announcement closed with this compelling statement: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A wasted mind is a terrible thing to have.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;That New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message inspired me to earn my associateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in cosmetology with a minor in journalism from Cootie Creek County Community College. After a rewarding career as a hair stylist, cosmetologist and journalist, I decided to follow in the footsteps of folk like Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee University and start up Hair Did University School of Cosmetology and Vocational Studies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As provost of H.D.U. School of Cosmetology and Vocational Studies, I invite you to register for our winter classes and step into a new and exciting destiny in 2015.â&#x20AC;?

Lawmakers: Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Waste Time on Gay-Marriage Ban

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January 7 - 13, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

Â° 2EPUBLICAN 'OV 0HIL "RYANT IN AN !SSOCIATED 0RESS INTERVIEW ON HIS SOLUTION TO CHRONIC POVERTY

Why It Stinks: The logical assumption is that Gov. Bryant hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spent a lot of time around people in poverty considering that he and his fellow Republicans can only seem to come up with solutions to caricatures of poverty rather than the real roots of the problems. Hence, we wind up with laws to drug-test welfare recipients and to garnish casino winnings even though scant evidence exist that either is any more prevalent among the poor than the general population. But Bryant hails from the Delta and should know that folks are not poor because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re spending welfare checks on dope and dice games. Poverty exists because of lack of education, poor health care (including reproductive) and systemic inequality. Gov. Bryant, come up with solutions to those problems and stop trying to shame the poorâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an unconscionable way to get votes.

he State of Mississippi immediately appealed a ruling last year that found its same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. During the Nov. 12, 2014, hearing, the state argued that U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves should issue a stay to give the state time to appeal and the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to rule. In response, Reeves told state attorneys nonchalantly: Or you could just not appeal. Laughter erupted in the courtroom. This is the perfect illustration of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notoriously relentless efforts to deny the right to marry to its LGBT citizens. Though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not clear what the Legislature can do to ensure that same-sex marriage will remain banned in the state, lawmakers will probably try to this sessionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;if for no other reason than to get political points from anti-LGBT voters. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Gov. Phil Bryant said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m probably not an expert in the constitutional arguments before the court. But what I will say is I understand the people of the state of Mississippi spoke clearly through a constitutional amendment. ... Any governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oath of office is to protect the constitution, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I intend to do.â&#x20AC;? But even one of the most conservative legislators, Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, has begun to urge Mississippians to prepare for the overturning of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ban. And while he main-

tains that he does not support gay marriage, he has accepted that the shifting culture and legal landscape will allow LGBT citizens to marry. The efforts of Mississippi leaders to keep same-sex marriage banned does not only hinder the ability of couples across the state from being recognized under the law, they also hinder the Legislatureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to get real work done. Like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that took much of the Capitolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oxygen last year, fighting gay marriage in the Legislature diverts time and money away from discussion about issues facing the state like a struggling education system and a high rate of medically uninsured citizens. Because this year is an election year, legislators may try to use their opposition to gay marriage to pander to Mississippi voters. Leaders who tout protecting the sanctity of traditional marriage, though, are battling against an inevitable end and wasting the citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time and money. Instead, leaders should take Gipsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead and recognize that the ridding of discriminatory language in their state constitution is unavoidable. It is time to focus on real discussions about effective policyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;what Mississippians need from their representatives. By finally laying to rest the gay marriage fight, Mississippi might actually find the time and energy to fix real problems in the state.

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

JOE ATKINS Jesus, the Migrant

EDITORIAL News Editor R.L. Nave Assistant Editor Amber Helsel Investigative Reporter Anna Wolfe JFP Daily Editor Dustin Cardon Music Editor Micah Smith Events Listings Editor Latasha Willis Music Listings Editor Tommy Burton Writers Bryan Flynn, Shameka Hamilton, Genevieve Legacy, Michael McDonald, LaTonya Miller, Ronni Mott, Zack Orsborn, Greg Pigott, Julie Skipper Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris Interns Ashley Sanders, Zachary Oren Smith ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Art Director Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Zilpha Young Design Intern Joshua Sheriff Staff Photographer/Videographer Trip Burns Photographer Tate K. Nations ADVERTISING SALES Advertising Director Kimberly Griffin Account Managers Gina Haug, Brandi Stodard BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Distribution Manager Richard Laswell Distribution Raymond Carmeans, Avery Cahee, Clint Dear, Michael McDonald, Ruby Parks Bookkeeper Melanie Collins Marketing Assistant Natalie West Operations Consultant David Joseph ONLINE Web Editor Dustin Cardon Web Designer Montroe Headd Multimedia Editor Trip Burns CONTACT US: Letters letters@jacksonfreepress.com Editorial editor@jacksonfreepress.com Queries submissions@jacksonfreepress.com Listings events@jacksonfreepress.com Advertising ads@jacksonfreepress.com Publisher todd@jacksonfreepress.com News tips news@jacksonfreepress.com Fashion style@jacksonfreepress.com Jackson Free Press 125 South Congress Street, Suite 1324 Jackson, Mississippi 39201 Editorial (601) 362-6121 Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com

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XFORD—In her new book “Jesus Was A Migrant,” writer Deirdre Cornell says migration is central to “biblical spirituality” and the chosen people themselves were “displaced, uprooted, homeless” migrants. Joseph, Mary and Jesus were refugees as well as migrants when they fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s tyranny. “Jesus belonged to a people indelibly marked by stories of Exodus and exile,” Cornell writes. “His life and ministry are framed by these narratives.” Moses tells us in the Old Testament’s Deuteronomy our duty to migrants: “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” I’ve got a feeling that migrants are not going to be feeling the love in Mississippi in 2015. Gov. Phil Bryant is up for re-election, and that’s not good news for migrants. After the bruising 2014 midterm elections that saw veteran U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran defeat Tea Party candidate Chris McDaniel in the Republican primary, Bryant is going to have to mend some major fences for his support of Cochran. He boasted his Tea Party credentials when he got elected governor, but then when push came to shove, he supported the well-oiled Country Club wing of the party. As bitter as Tea Partyers are about Big Money Republicans like Cochran and former Gov. Haley Barbour, they may like undocumented migrant workers even less. In his role as state senator, Chris McDaniel “authored scores of anti-immigrant bills,” according to the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, which anticipates a “backlash of racist, anti-immigrant proposals (to) come through in the 2015 Legislative Session.” Bryant built his political career in part on demonizing undocumented migrant workers. As state auditor in 2006, he issued a report claiming they cost the state millions of dollars in education, health care and other undeserved benefits. Yet a 2013 Immigration Policy Center study shows they also generate nearly $600 million in economic activity even though they remain excluded from most government benefits. Last July Bryant wrote a letter to President Obama declaring his intention to “prohibit the federal government or its agents from housing large numbers of new illegal immigrants” in Mississippi. Apparently he has no problem with housing thousands of them in prison. Mississippi even has a special prison for immigrants, the for-profit, 2,500inmate Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, one of 13 facilities in the U.S. In his response to the huge crisis of migrant children seeking shelter in the U.S.

from violence and abuse in their native Honduras and El Salvador, Bryant declared he would no longer accept children in Mississippi as part of the federal Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program. Obama told the nation in November that he would offer up to 5 million undocumented workers protection against deportation and a pathway to getting legal work permits, and the Republican outcry was immediate. Cochran, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and other GOP leaders in the state blasted Obama for what they saw as a power play and abuse of office. “While the president grants amnesty to countless illegal immigrants, millions of American citizens are still struggling to find work,” U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., said in a statement. “It’s time for the president to stop playing politics and instead put the American people first.” Coming after years of congressional inaction, Obama’s executive order—and the president quoted scripture in his message to the nation—is expected to affect about 45 percent of the nation’s 11 million undocumented workers. An estimated 9,000 migrant workers in Mississippi will be eligible for protection or work permits under Obama’s order. Changing demographics that include a fastgrowing Latino population have national Republicans worried that the anti-immigrant politics of conservative Tea Partyers will hurt the party’s chances in future elections. Corporate-minded Republicans like Haley Barbour value the cheap labor pool migrant workers provide. However, those demographics aren’t changing fast enough in Mississippi to worry Bryant and Tea Partyers like Chris McDaniel unduly. Too often missing in the debate are the migrants themselves. Their voices are rarely heard. Writers Russell King, John Connell and Paul White eloquently described those voices in their 1995 book “Writing Across Worlds”: “The migrant voice tells us what it is like to feel a stranger and yet at home, to live simultaneously inside and outside one’s immediate situation, to be permanently on the run, to think of returning but to realize at the same time the impossibility of doing so … It tells us what it is like to live on a frontier that cuts through your language, your religion, your culture. It tells of longdistance journeys and relocations, of losses, conflicts, powerlessness, and of infinite sadnesses that severely test the migrant’s emotional resolve.” Joe Atkins is a veteran journalist and professor at the University of Mississippi. He can be reached at jbatkins@olemiss.edu.

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A Bipartisan Response? Everything from early voting to Saturday voting and online registration are sure to be brought up this session with the help of a legislator who has been working on election reform for years, Rep. David Blount, D-Jackson. Blount, who previously worked directly with elections as the communication director in former Secretary of State Eric Clarkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, wants reforms that increase voter turnout and make it easier for Mississippians to vote. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican

After a person convicted of a felony â&#x20AC;&#x153;pays his debt to society,â&#x20AC;? as progressive lobbyist Rims Barber put it, Mississippi â&#x20AC;&#x153;makes it very difficult for anybody to get their voting rights reinstated once theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve lost it.â&#x20AC;? The Legislature must pass a bill with the personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name on it for him or her to get back the right to vote. Blount wants to introduce legislation to make the process easier. One question that came out of the mess of a Senate TRIP BURNS

fficials and advocates donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect this legislative session to be much different than any other. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a state-wide election year, which is the perfect time for emphasizing wedge issues and lollygagging on real state concerns like education and Medicaid. Really, the session could go either way. It could be as mundane as some of the weary progressive-cause advocates think it will be, or the anticipation of the November elections could create tension on hotbutton issues. Ultimately, the constituencies of each party have stayed the same. On education and Medicaid, opposing anything associated with President Obama resonates with the Republican base, which could result in the attempted destruction of Common Core education standards and the refusal of Medicaid expansion. The Democratic base, on the other hand, wants expansion of Medicaid and the full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Programâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;two perennial fights that the minority party tends to lose in the Capitol. Yet, one issue may draw support from both parties. The accusations of voter fraud and irregularities in the June runoff for the U.S. Senate Republican primary appears to have created consensus that it is time to rethink how campaigns are regulated in the state.

Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, would like to see the 2016 budget move toward full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program as well as increase state employee pay and funding for state highways.

race last year was whether or not Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primaries should be closed, due to the McDaniel campaignâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complaints about voting across party lines. Blount said, however, that the current primary system is fine and that he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;like closed primariesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that would restrict voting for some people.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;People should not make a career out of politics,â&#x20AC;? McDaniel said in the Dec. 31 email.

Reading, Writing and Reelection The only two times that the Mississippi Adequate Education Programâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which is always a major point of contentionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;has been fully funded since its creation in 1997 was in federal and state election years, 2007 and 2008, respectively. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said he plans to help increase education funding beyond previous years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My goal for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget is to have appropriated more money for Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public education than ever before in the history of our state,â&#x20AC;? Reeves told reporters at a John C. Stennis Capitol press luncheon in late November. But the state has adamantly refused to fund the program they had determined was needed for each public school to reach at least a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Câ&#x20AC;? rating. So Democratic leaders and public-school advocates have torn down statements like Reeveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and stated what they believe is the reality: The leaders are unwilling to invest in public schools. The Joint Legislative Budget Committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget proposal for fiscal year 2016 has already created a tizzy, prompting Democratic leaders to urge Republicans to â&#x20AC;&#x153;put your money where your mouth is.â&#x20AC;? Hank Bounds, Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commissioner of higher education, says that greater education attainment is a primary driver of economic development and something Mississippi needs if it wants to catch up with the rest of the nation. He also recognizes the resources required to get there. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I understand all the arguments. I recognize we are not a resource-rich state. I recognize that there are limited dollars available,â&#x20AC;? Bounds said at a John C. Stennis Capitol press luncheon early November. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The problem is, if we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get really focused on dealing with the education issue, (kindergarten) through universities, then someone else will be standing here in front

who prides himself on bringing voter ID to the state, set up a task force to study the problems revealed by the primary between establishment Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran and Tea Party State Sen. Chris McDaniel of Laurel. The task force discussed its support of the kind of reform that Blount has been working on for years, including early voting and online registration, in a study group in September. These ideas arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily linked to the problems in the Cochran-McDaniel race. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just two good ideas,â&#x20AC;? Blount said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That was a Republican primary so that electorate is not representative of the state as a whole.â&#x20AC;? Blount and many Democrats also are concerned with how people regain their right to vote after having it revoked.

Sen. McDaniel is an obvious supporter of reform to party primaries. In a Dec. 31 email to the JFP, McDaniel wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;(W)e must reform the primary process, ending forever the unconstitutional and improper practice of party-raiding. Republicans should be able to select their nominees without outside interference from Democrats. Likewise, Democrats must be afforded that same right.â&#x20AC;? McDaniel cites the 40,000 Democrats that he claims voted in the GOP primary in June 2014 for his reasoning. Along with a proposal to close party primaries, McDaniel also plans to propose reducing the size of the state Legislature to lower costs and imposing term limits on state legislators.

of a group just like this 10 years from now, with the types of questions being asked, and folks asking â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Why arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we making more headway in education?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Interestingly, especially after Reevesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; statements, the Joint Legislative Budget Committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget proposal cuts $3 million from Community Colleges and $19 million from Universities and continues to underfund MAEP by almost $300 million. Gov. Bryant touted the increases in education by $52 million in his budget proposal. However, his proposal shorted MAEP by $260 million. Rep. Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, says state lead-

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Fillingane said that giving tax credits to lure businesses to the state is not like giving away money in the state budget because, if it were not for the tax incentive, that money wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be coming to the state anyway. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t buy their argument at all,â&#x20AC;? Fillingane said. To get back to the full funding of MAEP, Democratic leaders have proposed allocating $97 million more for MAEP this year and the following two years, closing the current gap in funding over the next three years. This is a reasonable goal, they believe, because of increasing revenue.

COURTESY JARVIS DORTCH

ers are able to give the impression that they are increasing education funding while not actually providing any additional resources to the classroom. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even the governor likes to say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Well Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m putting an additional $52 (million) or $58 (million)â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;his number sort of changes, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;into MAEP.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; But what (Bryant) doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell you is that $41 million of that is just to cover the teacher pay raise, so heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually not putting anything additionally into MAEP other than a few million bucks,â&#x20AC;? Moak said. Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, chair-

January 7 - 13, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

Jarvis Dortch, program manager at the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, says getting Mississippians insured should be prioritized over politics.

man of the House Education Committee, echoed Reevesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; statements, saying that the Legislature will fund education greater than ever before by looking at increasing the amount of money teachers receive for supplies and focused programs like the third-grade reading gate and the pre-kindergarten program. Still, he said, full funding of MAEP is likely unreasonable. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anybody with any reasonable sense knows that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the money to fully funded it and do it consistently, and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no use in fully funding it one year and then having to back up next year,â&#x20AC;? Moore said in an interview. Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also disagrees with Moak, saying that education gets its deserved piece of the pie at 60-62 percent of the budget. Moak, however, suggests that the state prioritizes giving tax breaks to businesses over funding education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell people: When you give tax credits, when you give money away in the form of grants, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not in the budget, those are items that have either been taking out of the budget or theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re off budget. So when you add all of those things in there, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re underfunding education by a long way,â&#x20AC;? Moak said.

Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women Chairwoman Gloria Williamson, a former state senator, said pushing for education funding will be one of her priorities this legislative session, because education quality in the state affects everyone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have the money, and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand why we wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to do that,â&#x20AC;? Williamson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If we want better jobs in Mississippi, and we want better pay, and we want equal pay for everyone, we need to push for education,â&#x20AC;? Williamson said.

Bypassing the Legislature Better Schools Better Jobs, a publicschool advocacy nonprofit, is combatting the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chronic underfunding of public schools with a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would mandate the state to provide â&#x20AC;&#x153;an adequate and efficient system of free public schools.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would be surprised if (the leadership) just bought it hook, line and sinker,â&#x20AC;? allowing the initiative without a fight, political analyst Marty Wiseman said. Right now, the constitution only requires the state to fund free public schools â&#x20AC;&#x153;upon such conditions and limitations as the Legislature may prescribe.â&#x20AC;? Patsy Brumfield, a former journalist

and now a Better Schools Better Jobs organizer, calls that last part the â&#x20AC;&#x153;if-you-feellike-it clause.â&#x20AC;? Now that the initiative has received enough signaturesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;over 120,000â&#x20AC;&#x201D;to get on the ballot in November 2015, Brumfieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main task is making sure legislators donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add an alternative amendment to the ballot to confuse voters. Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initiative process, dictated in a law more than 20 years old, allows legislators to add a revised amendment next to any initiative that has made it onto the ballot. While the Legislature has never used this ability under the law, Moore said the leadership is discussing its intent to do so with this amendment. Moore said the wording of the amendment by Better Schools Better Jobs is deceptive and. Simply asking â&#x20AC;&#x153;should the State be required to provide for the support of an adequate and efficient system of free public schools?â&#x20AC;? does not tell voters what the amendment actually is, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That question thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the ballot in no way reflects what people will be voting on,â&#x20AC;? Moore said. For this reason Moore said the state could provide an additional amendment that would make it clear what the constitutional amendment would doâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which, in Mooreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinion, is give a judge the power to determine how the state should fund education. Brumfield said the Legislature might try to make the ballot less clear with the alternative amendment with hopes of deterring votes from the Better School initiative so it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pass. Her group, as well as the League of Women Voters in Jackson, will communicate with legislators to urge them not to pass the alternative amendment. Fran Leber, vice president of administration for the League of Women Voters in Jackson, said the alternative amendment â&#x20AC;&#x153;will make it confusing to people and which one they should vote for.â&#x20AC;?

Setting Up Failure? The concerns about underfunding are not restricted to the MAEP formula, but also over other programs the state has adopted. The state has not given enough money to the so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;third-grade reading gateâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;which keeps children back in third grade if they are not reading at gradelevelâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for it to work. Public-school advocates suggest that the gross underfunding makes it impossible for schools to hire literacy coaches. Rims Barber, who is also a civil-rights veteran, said he believes the lack of funding creates a system where kids donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t receive the help they need to succeed and then are held back when they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pretty soon weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to have the toughest third-grade basketball team in the nation,â&#x20AC;? Barber said, referring to the

increased number of children who will be held back due to the reading gate because they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t given the resources to meet reading standards. Instead of providing resources to schools, some Republicans have prioritized getting rid of Common Coreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the newest set of standardized education standardsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; during this legislative session. McDaniel told the JFP he plans to introduce a bill to repeal Common Core. Reeves said at the Stennis forum in November that he will do what he can to avoid what he calls a â&#x20AC;&#x153;government hijackingâ&#x20AC;? of education standards. Barber said the Republican objection to Common Core, which is a set of high standards with an emphasis on critical thinking, makes little sense. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have yet to figure out, on the Common Core issue, what are they objecting to? Are there words that people would learn to read that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want kids to learn how to read?â&#x20AC;? Barber said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If we use the same set that other states are using, gee, that makes some sense.â&#x20AC;? Reeves has proposed a task forceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; made up of parents, educators and specialists that he and the governor appointâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that would create new standards for the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schoolkids. But some lawmakers donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe these decisions should be in the hands of politicians or the state leadership. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The decision on all this Common Core, and the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) and all that, that needs to be made by the state Board of Education. It does not need to be made by the governor, lieutenant governor or the Legislature. We need to get the politics out of it,â&#x20AC;? Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said. Rep. Moore thinks similarly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m of the opinion that we need to let the state Department of Education deal with that. They are the experts,â&#x20AC;? Moore said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As far as taking the entire standards package and throwing it out, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something we cannot doâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;put our school districts in a pandemonium out there.â&#x20AC;? Brown is concerned about legislators, whom he points out are not educators, wanting to do away with a system about which they â&#x20AC;&#x153;donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any clue what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking about.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t heard one of them say they read Common Core,â&#x20AC;? Brown said. Barber agrees, saying the Common Core issue is a manufactured crisis: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all politics.â&#x20AC;? The Common Core outcry originates from a situation in Oklahoma, in which Reeves said the federal government forcefully imposed its school standards on the state by revoking its standards waiver. Reeves points out that the Mississippi Legislature was the group that granted the Mississippi State Board of Education the PRUH /(*,6/$785( VHH SDJH

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Looking Forward to Happiness 2015 C3 Participatory Art Project January 6 – March 13, 2015 Led by artists Morgan Welch and Sarah Qarqish of The Hannaberry Workshop, this year’s project brings together crowd-sourced imagery representing “happy memories” of individual Mississippians. These thousands of images will be collaged together, culminating in a large-scale outdoor public pavilion undulating across the open lawn of the BankPlus Green in The Art Garden. There will be ongoing participatory activities for the public during regular Museum hours through March 13. All C3 activity is free to the public. LEARN MORE AT WWW.MSMUSEUMART.ORG! Submit your images to the project by emailing them to c3project2015@gmail.com, by using the #c3project2015 hashtag on social media, or by uploading them through www.msmuseumart.org. Public unveiling with the artists Tuesday, January 13 at 6 PM.

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Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, doesn’t anticipate that many hot-button issues will be discussed in depth, with the exception of those that have outside influences, because it is an election year.

authority to dictate school standards years ago, so either the board or the Legislature could implement standards the proposed task force develops. “I think it is important that we have input on these standards from not just a group of people that are appointed. We also need input from parents, we need input from teachers, we need input from administrators, we need input from subject matter experts,” Reeves said at the luncheon in November. After Reeves’ talk, MDE released a statement expressing the importance of sticking with the high set of standards that schools are currently held to under Common Core. The board’s statement also corrected the misconception that the federal government took away Oklahoma’s flexibility waiver. Instead, when the state struck down Common Core, it had no standards in place, which prompted the federal government to step in because it is mandatory for states to have a set of school standards.

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

‘School Choice’ on Deck

The Legislature will likely address the potentially politically driven topic of “school choice” this session as well. Legislators plan to revisit the special-education savings account bill, which gives scholarships to special-needs students for them to leave public school if they wish, that was unsuccessful in the House last year. Rep. Carolyn Crawford, R-Pass Christian, a former social worker, authored the Equal Opportunity for All Students with Special Needs Act in the House last year and plans to work on similar legislation this session. As a mother of a special-needs child, she says the Legislature’s refusal to enact “school choice” policies for students with disabilities shows a disregard for those students and a fear of “school choice.” “I do take it as a slap in the face to our children with disabilities that the state of

Mississippi doesn’t care whether they get a free and appropriate education that meets their needs … that we’re not supporting educational success in whatever avenue that best meets these children’s needs for political reasons,” Crawford said. Crawford said she believed there was some misconceptions about the bill, emphasizing that the program would not take any money out of MAEP but would be funded through the general budget. “This is putting more money into education as a whole,” Crawford said. “This was a separate line item.” Public-school advocates respond that because the money is being spent on education, it could be funneled into MAEP where it would serve all children in public schools in the state, not just special-needs students. Supporters of the bill argue that special-needs students in the state are especially suffering. “The Equal Opportunity Special Needs bill is the top of our priority list,” said Grant Callen, founder of Empower Mississippi, which pushed for the bill last year. Special-needs students who qualify under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have a graduation rate of only 23 percent in Mississippi. “The problem they identify is very real,” Barber said. “The question is whether this is the right solution or not. … I am leery of the people who seem to be pushing it because they are the people who have been antipublic schools on a lot of other issues.”

Equal-Pay Fight Ahead Gloria Williamson, the women’s advocate and former state senator, said legislation for closing the wage gap will be critical this session. Rep. Brown said he “and every other Democrat in the Legislature” is in favor of

making sure women receive equal pay for equal work. He thinks of his daughters and granddaughters and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand why anyone would be against ensuring pay equality for women. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what the argument is against it,â&#x20AC;? Brown said. Brown thinks equal pay will be the â&#x20AC;&#x153;kicker.â&#x20AC;? Pay-equality legislation has not been successful in past years with all wage-gap bills dying in committee last year. Both the Evelyn Gandy Fair Pay Act authored by Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, and the Fair Pay Act of 2014 authored by James Evans, D-Jackson, died in committees chaired by Republicans. Williamson said three fair-pay bills have already been pre-filed for the 2015 session and have small differences. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of them has lots of guts to it; the other ones are milder,â&#x20AC;? Williamson said. The House and Senate leadership decides which committee gets each bill, so the fact that last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wage-gap bill went to a Republican-chaired committee, and not to the committee chaired by Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, tells Williamson they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the issue discussed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the lieutenant governor and the governor and the speaker of the House wanted it out, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d come out. So where does the buck stop? At the top,â&#x20AC;? William, a for-

mer senator, said. Illustrating the lack of discussion on the issue, Sen. Fillingane says he has never seen equal-pay legislation addressed in the Legislature, so he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what the opposing argument would be. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know they existed,â&#x20AC;? Fillingane said. Williamson also wants legislation to help fight human trafficking, especially to address the way predators use social media to lure girls. Because Mississippi Republicans are so notorious for their attempts at legislation restricting womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reproductive rights, most people believe something regarding womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s uteri will come up. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every year thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something,â&#x20AC;? Barber said. But after the 20-week abortion ban of last year and the passage of laws aimed at closing the last abortion clinic in the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which were unsuccessful, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to anticipate what more the state could do. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve about done everything we can to restrict that at this point,â&#x20AC;? Brown said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what they can do anymore.â&#x20AC;?

Medicaid Fight Returns The same circumvention of discussion on equal pay is happening with Medicaid expansion, which can be blamed for the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high medically uninsured rate.

Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, said he believes the conversation about Medicaid expansion will be the same as in recent years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Which is absolutely zip, none,â&#x20AC;? said Holland, who chaired the Public Health and Human Services Committee in the House for 28 years. Since Republicans took the House in 2011, it has been chaired by Rep. Sam Mims, R-McComb.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think (the Democrats) are playing politics.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Current leadership does not even allow one official legal hearing on that subject in three years,â&#x20AC;? Holland said, referring to the many bills that died in committee. Democrats in the Legislature have forced several debates through floor amendments, but the leadership has not been engaged. Six bills proposing expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act went

to the House Medicaid committee, chaired by Rep. Bobby Howell, R-Kilmichael, in the 2014 session. All of them died there. The Medicaid bills in the Senate went to other committees, like the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee or Senate Finance Committees, both chaired by Republicans. They died without discussion. In June 2013 NPR reported that Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, a Republican from Clinton, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow a debate on Medicaid expansion because he â&#x20AC;&#x153;saw it as a waste of time.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am dealing with reality,â&#x20AC;? he told NPR. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reality is that an expansion bill is not going to pass the House of Representatives. I think (the Democrats) are playing politics, and we are dealing with reality.â&#x20AC;? This is unconscionable to Holland, who is often in contact with Mississippians who are â&#x20AC;&#x153;trying, begging for some kind of health care and they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get it. Medicaid expansion would have given it to them.â&#x20AC;?

Giving Money Away? Mississippi hospitals say theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in danger. Many of the rural ones are going bankrupt because of state and federal cuts to reimbursement. The idea was that the PRUH /(*,6/$785( VHH SDJH

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tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tough to assess the City of Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position going into the 2015 legislative session. In past years, despite rhetoric from lawmakers and city officials about opportunities to build consensus around issues, that Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest city would get short shrift was about as certain as sweet potato pie at Christmas time. That sense seemed heightened going into the last session. If the Republican leadership wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t budge for a relative moderate like Harvey Johnson Jr. or a one-time Republican darling such as Frank Melton, there was no way that the newly elected Mayor Chokwe Lumumba would get so much as a foot in the door. But, as he had a knack for doing, Lumumba started to melt the ice and earn the trust of legislators before his untimely death in February. Legislators retreated in the face of uncertainty, and just about every bill that contained the phrase â&#x20AC;&#x153;city of Jacksonâ&#x20AC;? in its title met its doom.

Mayor Tony Yarber has talked to top Republican leaders, who he says seem most amenable to helping with Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public-safety needs.

January 7 - 13, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

Mayor Tony Yarber brings a youthful energy that hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been present in a long time. Plus, he has already proved that he can rally Republican support on some issues. (He even tried, unsuccessfully, to hire ultimate Republican insider, Hayes Dent, to lobby on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behalf). For once, Jackson seems to have leadership in place that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make Republicans who hold the purse strings nervous. And Yarber seems to know it based on the robust legislative agenda he has proposed and to which the city council has given its assent.

To Protect and Serve â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of the asks hinge around funding and appropriations,â&#x20AC;? Yarber said recently. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To prioritize, those asks that involve infrastructure investment are the things that we really need require not only the Hinds County delegation, but the state.â&#x20AC;? Most of the 17 items are related to getting financial assistance from the state for infrastructure work, police and fire protection of state properties. Jackson is again asking for the state to provide a way to recoup some of the money city taxpayers put out for police and fire protection. In fact, last session, several bills asking for public-safety assistance died without a full airing in committee, but the city did receive $500,000 for a crime study that was buried in the attorney generalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget. PRUH &,7< VHH SDJH

;468B;0CDA4 Ua^\ _PVT ( Affordable Care Act would insure more citizens, thus creating more patients paying into the system for hospitals to make up for the cuts. But since Mississippi hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expanded Medicaid under the ACA for economically disadvantaged people in the state, hospitals are getting the brunt of the politically divisive issue, along with the 20 percent of Mississippians still uninsured. ACA, which was passed in 2010, pays for 100 percent of the Medicaid expansion for the first three years and 90 percent thereafter until 2022. Since the expansion would cost the state next to nothing, the leadershipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s refusal to provide insurance to its citizens likely comes down to an ideological conflict with President Barack Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration. But Mississippi has already missed out on $2 billion in federal matching dollars. And as people like Williamson point out, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Somebodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to get the money, you can count on that.â&#x20AC;? Even southern states with Republican governors are getting on board with Medicaid expansion through the ACAâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as Tennessee and Alabama recently. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the fact that we have three more Republican governors, that will make a total of 14 Republican governors â&#x20AC;Ś says something to Republican voters, Republican members of the Legislature,â&#x20AC;? Brown said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Maybe we ought to do the same thing. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even get a debate on it.â&#x20AC;? On Dec. 15, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam proposed a plan to expand healthcare access, but not in the traditional sense. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We made the decision in Tennessee nearly two years ago not to expand traditional Medicaid,â&#x20AC;? Haslam said, reported by The Tennessean newspaper. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is an alternative approach that forges a different path and is a unique Tennessee solution.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The governor in Tennessee went out of his way to say this wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a Medicaid expansion or expanding the Affordable Care Act; this is the Tennessee plan,â&#x20AC;? said Jarvis Dortch, communications coordinator for the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From our point of view, we just want to make sure people have health insurance.â&#x20AC;? The Obama administration is being lenient with these states, giving exceptions to those who want to come up with an alternative to traditional Medicaid expansion, but still use federal dollars. With the federal waiver, which Tennessee still needs to receive, the government is allowing states to take the funds through ACA and use them for private insurance providers. Instead of those insured citizens enrolling in state-based plans, the state would assist them with premium assistance or tax credits to help fund private insurance plans. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something that I think would probably work in the state of Mississippi,â&#x20AC;? Dortch said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping â&#x20AC;Ś that we ba-

sically take our head out of the sand and actually start thinking about solving some of these problems.â&#x20AC;? Dortch said it would be simpler for the state to expand the existing Medicaid system, but if the alternative route can decrease the uninsured rate in Mississippi, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what matters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something ugly,â&#x20AC;? Holland said, that keeps the Mississippi leadership from helping get hundreds of thousands of state citizens insured. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Politics gets in the way of things,â&#x20AC;? Dortch said.

Correcting Corrections With its perennial budget woes, reforms at the Mississippi Department of Corrections are always on the table.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Politics gets in the way of things.â&#x20AC;? This time around, MDOC is no longer fighting a budget deficit, but the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prison system will again be in the spotlight in the wake of the recent indictment of Christopher Epps, MDOCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longtime commissioner, and Cecil McCrory, a businessman and prison-industry consultant, on 49 federal corruption charges related to no-bid contracts to various firms with which McCrory had business. Epps and McCrory had faced January trials before U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, but those are likely to be put off until after the legislative session ends. In the meantime, Gov. Phil Bryant named a replacement for Epps in Marshall L. Fisher, who formerly headed Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drug Enforcement Administration office. Bryant also convened a task force to overhaul the awarding of MDOC contracts. Just before the end of the year, the task force released a preliminary set of recommendations. The five-person task force said the state should bid out all contracts regardless of its size and eliminate existing no-bid contracts more than six months old and implement a competitive bidding process for those contracts. The report also calls for increased transparency requirements, such as naming any consultants as well as identifying the names of owners and individuals with more than a 5 percent interest in the vendorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business. House Corrections Committee Chairman Rep. Tommy Taylor, R-Boyle, PRUH /(*,6/$785( VHH SDJH

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There Goes the Neighborhood In talking to reporters, Yarber said while the Republican leaders are on board with making public-safety improvement, the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requests for help making infrastructure upgrades could face an uphill climb in the state Legislature. The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal is to seek a special improvement district near the Capitol that could involve asking the state to share the responsibility of maintaining or transferring ownership of infrastructure in the area. A separate agenda item would transfer to the state portions of surface and ground infrastructure near state-owned buildings for maintenance and upkeep. In January 2014, the citizens agreed to a 1-percent tax on certain sales. The commission that will oversee the spending of the 1-percent sales tax, which Jackson citizens passed through a referendum in January, is close to completing the master plan that will guide how the money will be spent. The mayor serves on the commission and said he hopes that some projects can commence as early as the end of the first quarter in 2015. The city is also under a consent decree with the U.S. Environment Protection Agency to make roughly $400 million in improvements to its sewer system. In addition, the city wants to establish a commission to study and provide strategies for tackling chronic poverty, and hopes to get state permission to create one or more special taxing districts that would benefit neighborhood associations. A frequent complaint of Jacksonians is the presence of abandoned and dilapidated housing and unkempt properties. Under Yarber, code enforcement authority moved to the Jackson Police Department from the Planning Department, and the city streamlined how contracts are doled out to clean up problem properties. Yarber said the city also wants more teeth to deal with derelict property owners because state law does not distinguish between chronic nuisance and nuisance properties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So what happens is that the chronic nuisance property gets the same advantage of process as the elderly lady whose husband passed away and hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had a chance to get the grass cut,â&#x20AC;? Yarber told reporters. The Jackson Zooâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which is largely supported by the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and Livingston Park would receive a $1 million allocation under another legislative request. State Sen. Hillman Frazier, a Jackson Democrat, could carry some of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bills this year. Frazier, who chairs the Senate Housing Committee, says he intends to sponsor a bill to create a public-housing trust fund for first-time home buyers and others. The funding mechanism Frazier proposes involves a so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;pole tax,â&#x20AC;? a per-patron assessment at gentlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clubs in the state. The city is considering hiring Worth Thomas as its lobbyist for the upcoming session. During the last session, Thomas lobbied for the Jackson State University Development Foundation, Altria, AT&T and Mississippi Power Co. Synarus Green is the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s director of policy and intergovernmental affairs. The legislative session begins Jan. 6, 2015.

Sen. Fillingane hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t heard of legislation geared at tackling the â&#x20AC;&#x153;brain drainâ&#x20AC;? yet, but he anticipates that the Finance Committee will be involved in studying the language if it is introduced this year. Because 2015 is an election year, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bound to be a number of wacky bills proposed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those hot-button issues will have lots of bills introduced,â&#x20AC;? Barber said. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves struck down the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay-marriage ban, Barber anticipates that a legislator will try to introduce discussion about protection

COURTESY GLORIA WILLIAMSON

Typically, the city asks for either a lump sum through a payment-inlieu-of-tax arrangement whereby the state pays a nominal fee to make up for lost real estate taxes. This year, he wants to establish a special fund for municipal fire and emergency management, crime prevention as well as workforce development. Yarber and other city officials believe state budget officials might be more receptive this year in the wake of fires at several prominent landmarks, including the state-owned Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum and the Eudora Welty Commons, which is a privately owned but well-known events venue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Services from the city of Jackson are used all the time for state agencies and state-sponsored events,â&#x20AC;? Yarber said. There could be some traction on this front. Yarber says he has met with Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Gov. Phil Bryant, and all three top Republican leaders indicated an openness to what the mayor described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;how we can make something happen with our public-safety situation.â&#x20AC;?

said he expects some of the legislation that emerges from the task force to come through his committee. Additionally, Taylor, a former warden, wants to revive a bill that died on the calendar last year to require auditing of county jails adjoining regional correctional centers. Taylor also plans to introduce a bill that would permit deer hunters to donate venison to state prisons, which he believes would provide a source of low-fat highprotein meat as well as help keep the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deer population in check.

Gloria Williamson thinks legislation that tackles pay inequality will be the major policy shift influencing women, but sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not hopeful it will get much discussion.

Small, But Notable As always, Mississippi lawmakers are working on their own, smaller projects for this legislative session. Brown wants to get rid of the inspection-sticker requirement for vehicle owners. To him, the requirement is just an extra cost and a nuisance. Rep. Chuck Espy, D-Clarksdale, announced his intent to propose legislation requiring police officers to wear body cameras while on duty. The proposal came after the non-indictment in two national cases of police killing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The public has increasingly lost confidence in our policing and judicial systems,â&#x20AC;? Espy stated in a press release. Espy is also working with the founder of Jackson-based Fast Forward, Tim Mask, to propose legislation that gives incentives to recent graduates to stay and find work in the state. The initiative would, in theory, give a 100 percent income tax credit for up to five years to individuals who take a â&#x20AC;&#x153;qualifying jobâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;one that requires the degree the individual has.

traditional marriage. Not much can be done now, he recognizes, until the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I assume someone will want to vent about it anyway,â&#x20AC;? Barber said. Fillingane agrees that many bills on hot-button issues will be filed, but because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an election year, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you probably wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see a full debate on a lot of those,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone is focusing reelection and not focusing on big major policy changes, and that may be somewhat different this year just because some these issues like â&#x20AC;Ś the Affordable Healthcare Act and the MAEP funding battle â&#x20AC;Ś theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re sort of required to be looked at this year because of outside forces,â&#x20AC;? Fillingane said. Ultimately, the red-meat bills, including ones to restrict a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to receive abortions, wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be substantive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This legislative session I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an election year. â&#x20AC;Ś Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll pass something, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sorry, but not very meaningful,â&#x20AC;? Williamson said. R.L. Nave contributed to this story. Comment at www.jfp.ms. Email Anna Wolfe at anna@jacksonfreepress.com.

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GIRL ABOUT TOWN p 25

Meant to Be by Sophia Halkias

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

of beauty and wonder to me. During the seven months between our engagement and wedding, working with a budget of $5,000, we came in under budget. We worked tirelessly on beautiful details and a wonderful experience for our guests. For example, we made the fan program using a template we found online, designing the wording and fonts ourselves, including a back page commemorating our deceased relatives. We tied a ribbon on the front and stamped a heart made from our thumbprints. The Rev. Chuck Culpepper, pastor of St. Alexis Episcopal Church, officiated. Our parents are from different religious backgrounds and were eager to see us married in their respective churches: the Greek Orthodox Church of mine, and the Bahai Church of Neil’s. The Episcopal Church allowed our interfaith union, and Neil’s mother read from Bahai scripture during the ceremony. We also included 1 Corinthians, chapter 13 and a beautiful poem by Pablo Neruda, “Sonnet XVII.” Throughout the ceremony, I wore the bracelet Neil made me during his brief stay in the hospital, when we knew we were better spending our lives together than spending them apart. After the ceremony, we celebrated with dancing, cake cutting, a beautiful toast made by our friend Andrew Harris, and photographs. Violinist Tom Lowe and cellist Nancy Bateman of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra provided all the music, including a special arrangement for our first dance of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” by Elton John. My life with Neil is just beginning. We have a year and a half of dating behind us, and now we are newly married. My attitude towards marriage has evolved over the years, and Neil has played a large part in that. I used to think of love just as an emotion; it is still an emotion, an incredible one, but also a commitment, a commitment we made to each other on our wedding day. COURTESY SOPHIA HALKIAS

t happened simply: I saw Neil Maneck for the first time in a Barnes & Noble coffee shop. “Oh he’s cute,” I said to my friend Catherine Gray, who had befriended him in high school. “Is he single?” Lucky for me, he was. Catherine invited Neil over that evening, and we got to talking. Over the course of the next week, she invited him over a few times more so that we had an opportunity to get to know each other in a low-pressure environment. After a night out listening to AJC at Underground 119, Neil asked for my number. Our first date was at Cups Fondren before one of his ACT tutoring appointments. We squeezed in lunch at Babalu Tacos and Tapas and a walk through Woodland Hills. When we parted, I had a pretty good feeling about him. It wasn’t long before we were spending most of our time together, but some uncertainty lingered. Shortly before I met Neil, I had volunteered teaching English at a rural university in Haiti. The combination of hard work and compassionate service was exhilarating so I applied for the Peace Corps and got accepted. It would be almost a year before I could depart for service. In the meantime, I was falling in love with Neil. We spent evenings taking walks through his neighborhood, playing board games and getting together with our shared friends. After six months, I knew there was no way I could leave, so I stayed. It wasn’t a hard decision. My life was better with Neil. He found beauty in aspects of myself that I doubted, and he brought out my most playful side. One year from our first date at Babalu, Neil proposed to me at the reservoir overlook off the Natchez Trace, on April 29, 2014. We had been talking about an engagement for several months. I wanted to wait a year before considering marriage, so we waited one year and not a day longer. The day of the proposal, it was cloudy, and the chances of rain were high. I thought certainly Neil wouldn’t propose to me at the reservoir, where I had once hinted would be a perfect place to get engaged. He looked at me slyly. “Did you think I would forget that?” he asked. We went early to beat the rain and found a little cove by the water. In wet sand, Neil dropped down on one knee, and asked me to marry him with a diamond ring worn by his great-grandmother. Of course, I said yes. We still weren’t sure if we wanted to have a ceremony. Neither of us is affiliated with a particular church or religion, but we wanted to share our union with close friends and family, so we decided to have a small, intimate ceremony. There were definitely budget considerations. With retired fathers and mothers looking to retire, we didn’t want to upend their

Sophia Halkias married Neil Maneck at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum Nov. 29, 2014.

financial lives with a lavish wedding. Besides, it wasn’t our style. We decided on a rustic theme, and what better place than the chapel and lodge at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum? Growing up, the chapel had been a place

Wedding planner: bride and mother of the bride, Virginia Halkias Day-of planner/coordinator: Virginia Halkias, mother of the bride Officiant: Rev. Chuck Culpepper, St. Alexis Episcopal Church (650 E. South St., 601-944-0415, stalexisjackson.org)

Reception location: Masonic Lodge, Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive, 601-432-4500) Caterer: Virginia Halkias, mother of the bride Photographer: Rob Motley, uncle of the bride

Music: Tom Low and Nancy Bateman, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Hair and makeup: Christina Nievas, Trim Salon (419 Mitchell Ave., 601-982-5575) Bride’s attire: David’s Bridal (1039 E. County Line Road, 601-9570505) heirloom veil

LIFE&STYLE | girl about town

JFPmenus.com

by Julie Skipper

New Ideas

JULIE SKIPPER

here is no doubt that I love Jack- while my date wore leather pants and a velson. But I also love to travel, both vet blazer. We felt very era appropriate. because there’s so much out there to Y’all. This band was the. Most. Fun. see in the world, and because hav- Jackson area folks are (or should be) familiar ing new experiences and getting new ideas is with the Molly Ringwalds, who play here fun. It’s also a way to find things that might fairly regularly. I’d equate this band to them be fun to bring back here. in terms of being a perfect mix of true musiPeople in the restaurant and hospital- cal talent, humor and fun. The band plays ity industry know this well, which often ’70s light rock, so the playlist is heavy on the results in my being jealous of posts on so- greatest hits of bands such as Hall & Oates, cial media by chefs or innkeepers conduct- Steely Dan and Michael McDonald. Its rening “research” at various hot spots around dition of “PYT” also got a great crowd reacthe country. And it’s exciting when they tion. Decked out in brightly patterned shiny bring their inspiration home and incorpo- synthetic shirts, polyester suits and some rate it into their own endeavors. serious ’staches, they fully commit to makThose who work on efforts related to ing every song their own. The crowd loved economic development know the importance of traveling to gather ideas and learn from other places as well. Groups such as the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership and Downtown Jackson Partners organize city visits for interested citizens and leaders within their boards for those folks to see the successes and learn from the challenges faced by communities like Jackson. I’ve had the pleasure of participating in two of those city visits (to Baton Rouge, La., and Chattanooga, Tenn.) and found them worthwhile in terms of making me think about what Yacht Rock Revue performed on New Year’s could happen here. Eve in Atlanta. Let’s bring them to Jackson. Sometimes, though, travel brings an idea that’s not so lofty a goal as a culinary innovation, interior design it, and we were happily front and center. concept or economic development initiative. The next day, as we lazed around a bit Over the New Year’s holiday, I got to travel before a New Year’s Day brunch at Atlanta to Atlanta (we won’t talk about the football restaurant Paces & Vine, we couldn’t stop game that was the reason for the trip, be- talking about how much fun the Yacht cause, well … it was not pretty) and had a Rock Revue was. We viewed YouTube most excellent time. I also came back with a videos. We scoured their website, and we musical mission. discovered that they play weddings and During the course of our three-night receptions, in addition to bars and clubs. stay, we enjoyed meals at The Optimist, The We also found out that for 10 years, the Luminary and Cooks & Soldiers. I got a band tried to make it as an indie band begreat blowout at Heat Lounge, a blow-dry fore a joke (turning the list of songs played and makeup bar. I shopped at Buckhead At- in a dentist’s waiting room into a playlist) lanta, a new shopping destination featuring led them to realize that people love ’70s designer boutiques. And … I totally enjoyed light rock. And I decided that this band a rocking (literally) New Year’s Eve. simply must come to Jackson. A friend traveling to Atlanta for the So, here’s the point at which I turn this game and holiday told me about a party column into a plea. Venue owners and band at Park Tavern at Piedmont Park featur- bookers of the metro, do us all a favor and ing a band called the Yacht Rock Revue. A see if you can get this excellent experience little Internet research later, it seemed like to come here. I really think Jackson has an a fun New Year’s event, so my fellow and audience for it. If nothing else, someone out I procured tickets. Little did I know how there, please book them for your wedding excited I should be. reception, and I’ll come crash it. After dinner, we headed to the party. That’s all to say, I’ll continue to travel From pre-trip investigation, I knew the in the year ahead and look forward to all the band played songs from the ’70s and ’80s, adventures and inspiration that will bring. so I donned a vintage suede dress and gold I hope you will, too. Get out there … and disco-inspired Gucci heels for the occasion, come back with ideas for Jackson.

AMERICAN/SOUTHERN CUISINE Basil’s (2906 N State St #104, Jackson, 601-982-2100) Paninis pizza, pasta, soups and salads. They’ve got it all on the menu. Broad Street Bakery (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) Hot breakfast, coffee drinks, fresh breads & pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches. The Feathered Cow (4760 I-55 North 769-233-8366) Simple and homemade equal quality and freshness every time. You never leave The Cow hungry! Primos Cafe (2323 Lakeland 601-936-3398/ 515 Lake Harbour 601-898-3400) A Jackson institution for breakfast, blue-plates, catfish, burgers, prime rib, oysters, po-boys & wraps. Famous bakery! Rooster’s (2906 N State St, Jackson, 601-982-2001) You haven’t had a burger until you’ve had a Rooster’s burger. Pair it with their seasoned fries and you’re in heaven. Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) Lunch. Mon-Fri, Sun. PIZZA Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant Parmesan, fried ravioli & ice cream for the kids! Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) More than just great pizza and beer. Open Monday - Friday 11-10 and Saturday 11-11. ITALIAN La Finestra (120 N Congress St #3, Jackson, 601-345-8735) Chef Tom Ramsey’s downtown Jackson hot-spot offers authentic Italian cuisine in cozy, inviting environment. BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Award-winning wine list, Jackson’s see-and-be-seen casual/upscale dining. STEAK, SEAFOOD & FINE DINING The Islander Seafood and Oyster House (1220 E Northside Drive, Suite 100, 601-366-5441) Oyster bar, seafood, gumbo, po’boys, crawfish and plenty of Gulf Coast delights in a laid-back Buffet-style atmosphere. The Manship Wood Fired Kitchen (1200 North State St. #100 601-398-4562) Transforms the essence of Mediterranean food and southern classics. The Penguin (1100 John R Lynch Street, 769-251-5222) Fine dining at its best. Rocky’s (1046 Warrington Road, Vicksburg 601-634-0100) Enjoy choice steaks, fresh seafood, great salads, hearty sandwiches. Sal and Phil’s Seafood (6600 Old Canton Rd, Ridgeland 601-957-1188) Great Seafood, Poboys, Lunch Specials, Boiled Seafood, Full Bar, Happy Hour Specials Saltine Oyster Bar (622 Duling Avenue 601-982-2899) Creative seafood classics. Named one of Jackson’s Best New Restaurants. MEDITERRANEAN/GREEK Aladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033) Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma. Vasilios Greek Cusine (828 Hwy 51, Madison 601-853-0028) Authentic greek cuisine since 1994, specializing in gyros, greek salads, baklava cheesecake & fresh daily seafood. BARBEQUE Chimneyville (970 High St, Jackson 601-354-4665 www.chimneyville.com) Family style barbeque restaurant and catering service in the heart of downtown Jackson. Hickory Pit Barbecue (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The “Best Butts in Town” features BBQ chicken, beef and pork along with burgers and po’boys. Pig and Pint (3139 N State St, Jackson, 601-326-6070) Serving up competition style barbecue along with one of the of best beer selections in metro. COFFEE HOUSES Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local group of coffeehouses offer a wide variety of espresso drinks. Wi-fi. BARS, PUBS & BURGERS Bonny Blair’s (1149 Old Fannin Rd 769-251-0692) Traditional Irish pub food and live entertainment. Open 11am daily. Burgers and Blues (1060 E. County Line Rd. 601-899-0038) Best Burger of 2013, plus live music and entertainment! Cherokee Inn (960 Briarfield Rd. 601-362-6388) Jackson’s “Best Hole in the Wall,” has a great jukebox, great bar and a great burger. Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches & Irish beers on tap. Hal and Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or daily specials. Legends Grill (5352 Lakeland Dr. 601-919-1165) Your neighborhood Sports Bar and Grill. Martin’s Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, beer selection. 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. One Block East ( 642 Tombigbee St. 601-944-0203) Burger joint and dive bar located in downtown Jackson. Great music, tasty beverages and Bad Ass Burgers is what we do. Time Out (6270 Old Canton Road, 601-978-1839) Your neighborhood fun spot! Terrific lunch special and amazing Happy Hour! Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Pan-seared crabcakes, shrimp and grits, filet mignon, vegetarian sliders. Live music. Opens 4 p.m., Wed-Sat Wing Stop (952 North State Street, 601-969-6400) Saucing and tossing in a choice of nine flavors, Wing Stop wings are made with care and served up piping hot. ASIAN AND INDIAN Fusion Japanese and Thai Cuisine (1002 Treetop Blvd, Flowood 601-664-7588) Specializing in fresh Japanese and Thai cuisine, an extensive menu features everything from curries to fresh sushi VEGETARIAN High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513)Jackson’s own strict vegetarian (and very-vegan-friendly) restaurant adjacent to Rainbow Whole Foods.

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

Paid advertising section. Call 601-362-6121 x11 to list your restaurant

MUSIC p 27 | 8 DAYS p 28 | SPORTS p 30

COURTESY MATTHIAS CLAMER

Comedy, Race and ‘Oh, Everything!’ Else by Micah Smith

Stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell brings his social and pop-culture-infused humor to Duling Hall, Thursday, Jan. 8.

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

oking fun at racial prejudice isn’t the most obvious career choice, but comic W. Kamau Bell continues to do just that in his new tour, “Oh, Everything!”, which makes a stop in Jackson on Thursday, Jan. 8, at Duling Hall. Biting racism down to the funny bone is nothing new for the comedian, but it’s the first time that Bell has hit the road since the cancellation of his FX TV series, “Totally Biased.” While he was, of course, disappointed with the show’s sudden end, it gave him a chance to return to his first love—stand-up comedy. “After ‘Totally Biased’ was canceled, I realized I wanted to get back on the road, and also reintroduce myself to people who knew me from the show, but didn’t know me from stand-up,” he says. “It’s an opportunity for me to do a lot of things I did on ‘Totally Biased’ without the screen, but also in a more personal, three-dimensional way.” Hosting a major television program was certainly a significant leap in status, but Bell prefers the up-close-andpersonal aspect of stand-up. “It’s a lot more fun,” he says. “I like the immediacy of hearing laughs right away and the immediacy of being with a crowd of people you can touch.” Each episode was filmed with a studio audience, but there was always a

disconnect between the comedy and the individual. Bell had to consider cameras, scripts and executives, which felt more obstructive than performing stand-up. Despite his increased recognition, Bell worked with show promoters to ensure that each performance costs about $15, so that those who want to come can afford it. “I think it’s really easy to go, ‘I’ve been on TV. Tickets are now $35.’ I certainly see other acts selling tickets at a higher price, but at this point, I want to make it as accessible as possible,” he says. “If you’re a fan of mine, I want you to feel like you’re invited to come in. I don’t want you to feel like it’s an obstacle.” While Bell is known for his intellectual, civic-minded comedy, his style has more in common with his former producer, Chris Rock, than with his political peers. He believes Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are immensely talented, but when he sits down to write, neither comedian comes to mind. Instead, Bell views some of the same global problems through his own lens. “A lot of what I do isn’t explicitly political in the way that people think about political comedy,” he says. “I don’t spend a lot of time talking about Congress or ‘those idiots in the Senate.’ I spend a lot of time talking about identity politics and sociopolitical issues that aren’t necessarily

about Washington. They just end up in Washington.” Discussing race through humor isn’t an easy sell for every audience, and it can be especially difficult in the wrong context. Bell usually steers clear of the comedy-club circuit because there’s a tendency to lump comedians together without regard for clashing styles. Ultimately, Bell says being deliberate in choosing where he performs and whom he performs for makes him a better comedian. “I think (my) crowds are sort of eaters of culture. They read the news and pay attention to that, but they also watch movies or listen to music,” Bell says. “I think the more diverse a crowd is, generally the smarter a crowd is. When a crowd is all one thing, they develop this groupthink, and it becomes like performing at a wedding reception, like, ‘OK, let’s talk about Uncle Jim.’” Bell works to enact change off stage, as well. He is an ACLU Ambassador of Racial Justice, an advisory-board member for the racial-justice think tank Race Forward and a volunteer with Hollaback, a nonprofit organization that counters street harassment. W. Kamau Bell performs at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave., 601-292-7121). Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For more information, visit ardenland.net.

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Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Better Jazz and Blues by LaTonya Miller

ai Johanny Johanson, better known by his stage name, Jaimoe, has been playing drums and percussion since he was 16. From the beginning, he was so certain of his career path that he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even want to finish school. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just finished because my mother asked me to,â&#x20AC;? he says. Before touring with the likes of Otis Redding, Percy Sledge and The Five

and Paul Lieberman, who splits his time between saxophone, flute and piccolo. Jaimoeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jasssz Band delivers a masterful blend of jazz, R&B, blues and rockn-roll, all of which is definitively captured on its third album and first studio-recording project, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Renaissance Man,â&#x20AC;? released in 2011. Jaimoe pays homage to his Allman Brothers roots with a bossa nova version of the classic tune â&#x20AC;&#x153;Melissaâ&#x20AC;? from &$5/ 9(518/'

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Stairsteps, a young Jaimoe washed dishes in restaurants between drumming jobs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That would usually last about four or five months, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be off on the road again,â&#x20AC;? he says. In 1969, Jaimoe helped to found legendary southern rock group Thee Allman Brothers Band, which earned him a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. After 45 years, the surviving band membersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;hailed as pioneers of the jam-band genreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;still rock the stage together. To say that Jaimoe is a master of his craft after 54 years of performing is somewhat of an understatement. At 70, the 1995 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is still keeping time in the rhythm section; only, now, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literally to the beat of his own drum. Today, instead of washing dishes between gigs, Jaimoe jams on. In 2006, he assembled a seven-piece ensemble to indulge in the jazz side of his musicality. Naturally, Jaimoeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jasssz Band features Jaimoe on drums. The groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seasoned musicians also include guitarist and vocalist Junior Mack, bassist Dave Stoltz, keyboardist Bruce Katz, and a show-stealing horn section comprised of saxophonist Kris Jensen, trumpeter Reggie Pittman

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The Allman Brothers Bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1972 studio album, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eat a Peach.â&#x20AC;? Jaimoeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jasssz Band will play in Jackson for the first time at the Mississippi Blues Marathonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s after-party, but Jaimoe isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t unfamiliar with the local music scene. His list of jam-session partners features a few notable Jackson natives, such as singer Tommy Tate. Jaimoe has also heard about Jesse Robinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guitar-playing, and says he wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mind meeting him while in town. After Jackson, Jaimoeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tour makes a stop in his hometown, Gulfport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where I went to school, and I lived there until I was 22,â&#x20AC;? he says. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be in town there for the unveiling of a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in his honor on Jan. 13, at 3 p.m. at the intersection of Arkansas Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard. While Jaimoe wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pin down a release date for the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fourth album, only saying to expect it â&#x20AC;&#x153;in the next year and a half, maybe sooner,â&#x20AC;? fans can expect another worthy addition to the drummerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ever-growing legacy. Jaimoeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jasssz Band performs at the Mississippi Blues Marathon After Party at 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Iron Horse Grill (320 W. Pearl St.) For more information, visit jaimoe.com.

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January 7 - 13, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

MUSIC | live

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DIVERSIONS | music

THURSDAY 1/8

FRIDAY 1/9

SATURDAY 1/10

Make! is at the Madison Public Library.

Back to School Family Game Night is at Brighton Park in Clinton.

The Mississippi Opry Winter Show is at the Pearl Community Room.

BEST BETS JAN. 7 - 14, 2015

Actress Katie Emerson and actor David Spencer revive the famous fantasy rivalry of Peter Pan and Captain Hook at New Stage Theatre through Sunday, Jan. 18.

Java Jog starts at 6:30 a.m. at Sneaky Beans Coffee Shop (2914 N. State St.). Lululemon Athletica’s run ambassador, Terry Sullivan, leads. Runners meet on the front porch of Sneaky Beans for a leisurely 30-minute run and stay for coffee after to socialize. Free; call 601-366-0367; email highland-Jackson@lululemon.com; lululemon.com.

COURTESY NEW STAGE

WEDNESDAY 1/7

THURSDAY 1/8

COURTESY THE STAR KILLERS

Tom Ramsey’s “The Taste” Viewing Party is at 7 p.m. at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). 10 percent of the proceeds from food and drink sales benefits UMMC’s pediatric programs, including Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. Purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a prize Jan. 22. Food for sale, $10 raffle ticket; call 601-984-1492; email kramsey@umc.edu; tomramsey.com. … W. Kamau Bell’s “Oh, Everything” Stand-up Comedy Tour is at 7 p.m. at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). Bell is a sociopolitical co-

FRIDAY 1/9

Higher Grounds Coffeehouse is from 7 p.m.-9:20 p.m. at St. Alexis Episcopal Church (650 E. South St.). Singersongwriter Jason Turner performs. Coffee and snacks provided. BYOB. Free; call 601-944-0415; stalexisjackson.org. … “Peter Pan” is at 7:30 p.m. at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The play is based on J.M. Barrie’s classic tale about a boy who never grew up and his adventures in Neverland. Performances continue through Jan. 18. $28, $22 seniors and students; call 601-948-3533; newstagetheatre.com.

SATURDAY 1/10

“It’s This Girl” is from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. at Doc 36 Skatepark (931 Highway 80 W.). Enjoy music from female artists from Jackson, Memphis and the region. Includes free nachos. $8 show only, $10 show and BY MICAH SMITH skating; call 272-2758; find “Its This Girl!” on Facebook. … JACKSONFREEPRESS.COM “Chamber II: Mozart and More by Candlelight” is at 7:30 p.m. at FAX: 601-510-9019 the Belhaven University CenDAILY UPDATES AT ter for the Arts (835 Riverside JFPEVENTS.COM Drive). The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra presents selections from J.C. Bach, Mozart, Gossec and Vanhal. $16, $5 students; call 601-960-1565; msorchestra.com.

prizes, samples and consultations with wedding professionals. No strollers allowed. $22 in advance, $25 at the door; call 601-957-1050; thepremierbridalshow.com. … Graphic Design Department Student Show is from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. at the Belhaven University Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center (1500 Peachtree St.). See works from current Belhaven students in the art gallery. Show hangs Jan. 17-Feb. 7. Free; call 601-974-6478; belhaven.edu.

MONDAY 1/12

Mosaic Class with Teresa Haygood is from 6 p.m.8:30 p.m. at Mississippi Craft Center (950 Rice Road, Ridgeland). Learn to create on outdoor mosaic garden brick. Includes a second session for grouting on Jan. 14. Registration required. $70 plus $25 materials fee; call 601-856-7546; email education@mscrafts.org; craftsmensguildofms.org.

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

EVENTS@ TUESDAY 1/13

Memphis indie-rock quartet The Star Killers perform for “It’s This Girl,” a femalecentric night of music at Doc 36 Skatepark on Saturday, Jan. 10.

median who was recently named an Ambassador of Racial Justice by the ACLU. Doors open at 6 p.m. Seated, all-ages show. Adults must accompany children. $12 in advance, $15 at the door, $3 surcharge for patrons under 21; call 601292-7999; email arden@ardenland.net; ardenland.net.

SUNDAY 1/11

“The Premier Bridal Show: Weddings and Celebrations” is from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). The event includes door

The C3 Participatory Art Project is from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). The HannaBerry Workshop leads this year’s public art installation, “Looking Forward to Happiness.” Visitors can contribute images for the collage. Free; call 601-960-1515; msmuseumart.org.

WEDNESDAY 1/14

History Is Lunch is from noon-1 p.m. at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Historian Walter Howell talks about his book on the history of Clinton, Miss., “Town and Gown.” Book sales and signing to follow. Free; call 601-576-6998; mdah.state.ms.us.

34!'% 3#2%%. W. Kamau Bell’s “Oh, Everything” Standup Comedy Tour Jan. 8, 7 p.m., at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). Seated, all-ages show. Adults must accompany children. $12 advance, $15 door, $3 surcharge for patrons under 21; call 601-292-7999; email arden@ ardenland.net; ardenland.net. “Peter Pan” Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m., Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m., Jan. 11, 2 p.m., at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The play is based on J.M. Barrie’s classic tale. Performances run through Jan. 18. $28, $22 seniors and students; call 601-948-3533; newstagetheatre.com. “Martha” Jan. 12, noon, at First Baptist Church of Clinton (100 E. College St., Clinton). Fish Tale Group Theatre presents John Maxwell’s play based on the biblical story of sisters Mary and Martha. Free; call 601-9240444; fishtalegroup.org.

+)$3 Events at Madison Public Library (994 Madison Ave., Madison) • Make! Jan. 8, 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Youth ages 10 and up simulate a space mission with LEGOs. Registration required. Free; call 601-856-2749. • Rising Readers Storytime Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. through Jan. 27 The program for ages 3-5 includes songs, rhymes, movement and storytelling to strengthen early literacy skills as well as an enthusiasm for reading. Free; call 601-856-2749. Question It? Discover It! Saturday Jan. 10, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive). Discover how many bones are in the human body and how to keep them healthy. Included with admission ($10, free for children under 12 months and members); call 601-981-5469; mississippichildrensmuseum.com.

&//$ $2).+ Tom Ramsey’s “The Taste” Viewing Party Jan. 8, 7 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). 10 percent of proceeds from food and drink sales benefits UMMC’s pediatric programs. Purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a prize Jan. 22. Food for sale, $10 raffle ticket; call 601-984-1492; email kramsey@ umc.edu; tomramsey.com. WAMA Craft Beer Tasting Jan. 14, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., at Walter Anderson Museum of Art (510 Washington Ave., Ocean Springs). Sample craft beers from Chandeleur Brewing Company, Crooked Letter Brewing Company and Lazy Magnolia. Includes music from Joanna Barbera, and pub-style snacks and games. For ages 21 and up. Limited tickets. $15, $10 members; call 228-872-3164; email development@walterandersonmuseum.org; walterandersonmuseum.org.

30/243 7%,,.%33 Mississippi Blues Marathon and Half Marathon Jan. 10, 7 a.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). At the Art Garden. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi sponsors full, half and quarter marathons, a one-mile kids race and relay teams. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Mississippi Blues Commission. Registration required. Fees vary; call 601624-7882 for volunteer signups; email info@ msbluesmarathon.com; msbluesmarathon.com.

#/.#%243 &%34)6!, Higher Grounds Coffeehouse Jan. 9, 7 p.m.9:20 p.m., at St. Alexis Episcopal Church (650 E. South St.). Singer-songwriter Jason Turner performs. Coffee and snacks provided. BYOB. Free; call 601-944-0415; stalexisjackson.org. Bricks in the Wall: The Sight and Sound of Pink Floyd Jan. 9, 9 p.m., at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). All-ages. Adults must accompany children. $15 advance, $20 door; call 601-2927999; email arden@ardenland.net. Mississippi Opry Winter Show Jan. 10, 6 p.m.9 p.m., at Pearl Community Room (2420 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). Performers include Alan Sibley and the Magnolia Ramblers, and Harmony & Grits. $10, children under 18 free; call 601-331-6672; email sa5ash@aol.com.

#2%!4)6% #,!33%3 Mosaic Class with Teresa Haygood Jan. 12, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at Mississippi Craft Center (950 Rice Road, Ridgeland). Registration required. $70 plus $25 materials fee; call 601856-7546; email education@mscrafts.org; craftsmensguildofms.org. Shut Up and Write! Saturdays, 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m., at the Jackson Free Press (Capital Towers, 125 S. Congress St., Suite 1324). Register now for “Writing to Change Your World,” a sixweek creative non-fiction series led by Donna Ladd and Ronni Mott. The series will demystify the writing process for students of any level and teach you to write sparkling true stories, essays and book chapters with weekly feedback. Class series is $350 including workbook and snacks. Gift certificates are available and credit cards accepted. Seating limited. Classes meet Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 21, 28, March 21, 28 (recordings available if you miss a class). Call 601-362-6121, ext. 15; email class@writingtochange.com and get on list for class deals and alerts.

%8()")4 /0%.).'3 Graphic Design Department Student Show Jan. 11, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., at Belhaven University, Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center (1500 Peachtree St.). See works from Belhaven students in the art gallery. Show hangs Jan. 17Feb. 7. Free; call 601-974-6478; belhaven.edu. Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings, or to add your own events online. You can also email event details to events@jacksonfreepress.com to be added to the calendar. The deadline is noon the Wednesday prior to the week of publication.

THURSDAY

1/08

BEER BUCKET SPECIAL (5 B EERS

FOR

$8.75)

$5 APPETIZERS (D INE

O NLY )

FRIDAY

1/09

SHAKE IT LIKE A CAVEMAN 10 P.M.

SATURDAY

1/10

LIGHTNIN MALCOM 10 P.M.

SUNDAY

1/11

GJI676<6

?6B

7PM - UNTIL

ALL MUSICIANS WELCOME MONDAY

1/12

Wednesday, Januray 7th

ADIBS BLUES Thursday, Januray 8th

JODI JAMES Friday, January 9th

CHRIS GILL AND THE

SOLE SHAKERS Saturday, January 10th

TAZ CRU and his band of

DE:C ?6B TORTURED 7PM - UNTIL ALL MUSICIANS WELCOME $5 APPETIZERS (D INE

O NLY )

SOULS

Tuesday, January 13th

5 - 10 PM

JESSE ROBINSON AND FRIENDS

10pm - 12am

Happy Hour!

BEER BUCKET SPECIAL (5 B EERS

FOR

$8.75)

TUESDAY

1/13

SHRIMP BOIL $1 PBR & HIGHLIFE $2 MARGARITAS UPCOMING SHOWS 1/17: Captain Green 1/24: New Madrid w/ European Theater 1/30: Andrew Bryant of Water Liars Featuring Matt Patton of Drive By Truckers 2/20: JGBCB (Jerry Garcia Band Cover Band) SEE OUR NEW MENU

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January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

#/--5.)49 Back to School Family Game Night Jan. 9, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., at Brighton Park (530 S. Frontage Road, Clinton). Enjoy family fun for individuals and groups before school begins. Includes pizza while supplies last. $2 per person, or $10 per family of four or less; call 601-924-6387; email cfontenot@clintonparksandrec.com. The Premier Bridal Show: Weddings and Celebrations Jan. 11, 1 p.m.-5 p.m., at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). The event includes door prizes, samples and consultations with wedding professionals. No strollers allowed. $22 advance, $25 door; call 601-957-1050; thepremierbridalshow.com. Fundamentals of Grant Writing Workshop Jan. 13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). In the Community Room. T.N. Williams and Associates is the host. Topics include writing and research techniques, structuring grant applications and how to approach a grantor. Registration required. $99; call 982-8467; eventbrite.com.

DIVERSIONS | jfp sports the best in sports over the next seven days

Your Neighborhood Funspot!

WEDNESDAY 1/7

NEW BOURBON ST.

FRIDAY, JAN 9 NBA (7-9:30 p.m., ESPN): Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference face off as the Washington Wizards host the Chicago Bulls.

JAZZ BAND (Restaurant)

THURSDAY 1/8

SATURDAY, JAN 10 NFL (3:35-7 p.m., NBC): The AFC’s top seed, the New England Patriots, face their playoff nemesis the Baltimore Ravens at home. … NFL (7:15-11 p.m., Fox): Defending Super Bowl champions the Seattle Seahawks look to flex their home field dominance against the Carolina Panthers.

RESTAURANT OPEN AS USUAL FRIDAY 1/9

Pre - Blues Marathon PARTY featuring live music and dinner specials! SATURDAY 1/10

SUNDAY, JAN 11 NFL (12:05-3:30 p.m., Fox): The Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys meet in a potentially iconic playoff match. … NFL (3:40-7 p.m., CBS): Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos

LUCKY HAND BLUES BAND (Restaurant)

B L U E M O N D AY 7PM, $5 (Restaurant) TUESDAY 1/13

PUB QUIZ

W/ ERIN & FRIENDS 7PM, $2 TO PLAY! (Restaurant)

UPCOMING: ARDENLAND PRESENTS:

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

2/21 The Revivalists 2/27 LUCERO + RYAN BINGHAM 5/1 Neutral Milk Hotel tickets at Ardenland.net OFFICIAL

HOUSE VODKA

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TH E G

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R EE N

O RO M

with dinner specials. Happy Hour prices on drinks all night long with your runner number or Blues Marathon wristband.

by Bryan Flynn

THURSDAY, JAN 8 Women’s college basketball (8-10 p.m., Fox Sports): Undefeated and nationally ranked Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs host the Lady Razorbacks of Arkansas.

C O M I NG U P

Post-Blues Marathon PARTY

SLATE

- Pool Is Cool-

Best of Jackson  Winner

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Daily Beer Specials 12pm - 7pm

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444 Bounds St. Jackson MS 601-718-7665

It is always sad to see the football season coming to an end. There is one more meaningful college game left, but there is still a handful of meaningful NFL games to watch. face his old team, the Indianapolis Colts, and his replacement, Andrew Luck. MONDAY, JAN 12 College football (7:30-11:30 p.m., ESPN): Either the Oregon Ducks will win their first-ever playoff for the national championship, or the Ohio State Buckeyes will win for the first time since 2002. TUESDAY, JAN 13 College basketball (8-10 p.m., SECN): Mississippi State tries to turn things around in the conference slate as it takes on the Texas A&M Aggies. WEDNESDAY, JAN 14 College basketball (6-8 p.m., SECN): Keep your tweets nice about the Ole Miss Rebels hosting the LSU Tigers. You never know who could be watching them. Tony Romo renewed his clutch status after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions. That might be the strangest thing in this strange football season. Follow Bryan Flynn at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports and at facebook.com/jfpsports.

bryan’s rant College Football Bowl Thoughts

veryone has likely heard about the dust-up between Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork and cartoonist Marshall Ramsey. Bjork got upset over Ramsey’s New Year’s Eve tweet: “Wonder if Bo will be asked to drop the ball tonight.” That tweet might have been the nicest thing said about Wallace, who had three interceptions in the first half. Bjork said he was just defending his player and thought Ramsey was picking on the student-athlete. Here’s the thing Bjork and every other athletic director needs to understand: If the power-five conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Pac-12) want to push for autonomy and paying players, what Ramsey said will look like a compliment in comparison to what’s coming. The difference is that pro athletes are paid and college athletes are thought of as kids just using sports to earn a degree. If they are paid, then the gloves will come off even more so than they have now. The power-five athletic directors need to grow a thicker skin because Bjork

would have snapped if he saw my Wallace tweets. Also, it doesn’t look good to pick Twitter fights when you’re getting your butt handed to you 42-3. It was not the best bowl season for the SEC; it finished 7-5 in bowl games. The mighty SEC West went 2-5 in bowl games with blowouts of Mississippi State and Ole Miss. The SEC East, though, went a perfect 5-0 in the bowl season. It was a down year for SEC bowl games, but it wasn’t like the rest of the power five were tearing it up. The Big 12 went 2-5, the ACC went 4-7, and the Big Ten is currently 5-5 as Ohio State prepares to play for the championship. This season, the Pac-12 performed as the best conference, currently at 6-2 and awaiting Oregon’s performance against OSU. Can the whole country send the Oregon Ducks a big thank-you note? Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles can’t troll America anymore, courtesy of the Ducks. If Oregon can play like they did against Florida State on New Year’s Day, I don’t think there is a team in the country that can beat them.

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BULLETIN BOARD: Classifieds

As low as $20! jfpclassifieds.com RETAIL

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TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: Post an ad at jfpclassifieds.com, call 601-362-6121, ext. 11 or fax 601-510-9019 Deadline: Mondays at noon.

NOW HIRING DRIVERS ONLY FOUR DEDICATED ROUTES LEFT! OUT OF JACKSON, MS January 7 - 13, 2015 â&#x20AC;¢ jfp.ms

#!02)#/2. $EC *AN

Call Titans Transfer 866-329-4521 www.drive4titan.com 33

Best of Jackson Winner 2012-2014

LIVE MUSIC Thursday Jan. 8

Clinton Babers II An Acoustic Set 8 PM

Friday & Saturday Jan. 9-10

DANi Music Birmingham, AL 8:30 PM

Tuesday Jan. 13

Jazz Tuesdays 7 PM

Voted one of the Best Restaurants and Bars In Metro Jackson Best of Jackson 2014

Plate Lunch Starting At $10 Includes Tea! Minutes from Downtown!

1100 John R. Lynch Street | Suite A | Jackson, MS 769.251.5222 | thepenguinms.com

Fridays in January 6pm-11pm

One winner selected each hour will get 30 seconds to grab as much Cash as they can from the Cash Cube! Win up to $5,000 Cash! Earn 10X entries Fridays-Sundays, 30X entries Tuesdays & Thursdays and 50X entries Mondays & Wednesdays.

New Members Scratch & Win! January 9-31 Fridays • 7pm-2am Saturdays • 1pm-Midnight There will be 4 drawings on Friday nights and 6 drawings on Saturday. Winners drawn randomly throughout the time period will win $300 in chips or promo chips!

January 7 - 13, 2015 • jfp.ms

Start earning entries Friday, January 2.

1046 Warrenton Road • Vicksburg, MS 39180 riverwalkvicksburg.com • 601-634-0100 Must be 21 or older to enter casino. Management reserves all rights to alter or cancel promotion at any time without notice. Gambling problem? Call 1-888-777-9696. ©2015 Riverwalk Casino • Hotel. All rights reserved.

NEVER A COVER! profit item -- an expensive loan.

Our customers need cars to get to work. Most

of them canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay cash for a dependable car, and most conventional lenders turn them away. Our core business is selling good cars to people who need credit. By providing affordable financing and we make sure itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affordable -- we can enable those customers to advance in life.

M ONDAY-FRIDAY

WEDNESDAYâ&#x20AC;Š1/7â&#x20AC;Š

Friday, January 9

Lunch: Red Beans & Rice night:

Pub Quiz

WITH â&#x20AC;ŠA NDREW â&#x20AC;ŠM C L ARTY

THURSDAYâ&#x20AC;Š1/8

Jonathan Alexander & New Belgium Release Party MONDAYâ&#x20AC;Š1/12

Lunch: Meat Loaf

night:

Karaoke

WITHâ&#x20AC;ŠMATTâ&#x20AC;ŠCOLLETTE

TUESDAYâ&#x20AC;Š1/13

Lunch: Grilled Pork Chop evening: WITH

Mail in registration form also available on the JFC website. Save $25 by registering by 1/7/15. Registrations accepted until 1/14/15. For more info contact jacksonfc1@aol.com.

Friday, January 23

SATURDAYâ&#x20AC;Š1/10â&#x20AC;Š