V16n35 - Private Prison On Trial

vol. 16 no. 35 FREE

MAY 2 - 8, 2018

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CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF THE JFP

private prison on trial

Inmates at ‘Bleak’ Facility Tell Harrowing Stories Dreher, pp 14 - 18

zoo tug-o-war

Your YourMetro MetroEvents EventsCalendar Calendarisisatat

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Bragg, pp 6 - 8

the district’s new food hall Helsel, p 19

mr. fluid vs. conformity Smith, p 22

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JACKSONIAN Jordan Guerriero courtesy Jordan Guerriero

W

hen Jordan Guerriero is not working at Professional Eyecare Associates in Madison, she writes for her blog, “Lift Cats Not Weights.”

Guerriero, 26, says the name was inspired by her two cats, Mr. Vivian and Baby Princess Hathor, who she says will make their debut on the site soon. On the blog, she shares lifestyle tips such as vegan recipes and self-care tips. Her posts include everything from how to get out of a rut to a post on her trip to the Hindu temple in Brandon.

“I’m into taking care of yourself, whether that’s with food or spiritually,” Guerriero says. “Healthy is doing what makes you feel good.”

The Monroe, La., native received her bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from Mississippi State University in 2016.

Guerriero, who is the daughter of an Italian father and an Irish mother, was raised vegetarian and grew up in the kitchen. She says her blog came about by simply taking pictures of food and documenting her vegan lifestyle.

She generally posts once or twice a week and describes her blog content as “accessible vegan recipes with a dose of spiritual meatiness.”

“Food nourishes your body,” she says.

“Cooking nourishes your soul. I hope my blog brings people together through cooking, and I want to show that anyone can take care of their body on any budget.”

Guerriero says she plans to add vegan meal plans and shopping lists for people to download, as well as an e-book about how to start a vegetarian lifestyle. She is also working on a vegan cookbook.

Many factors besides food play into living a healthy lifestyle, Guerriero believes. In a recent post entitled, “An Interlude on Holistic Health,” she writes about how health can be broken down into three areas: “physical, mental and spiritual.”

She is passionate about minimalism, fostering animals and supporting local businesses, as well as volunteering with the Craftsmen Guild of Mississippi. Guerriero says she tries to include some sort of call to action in her posts, encouraging readers to go out and spread positivity. “I would love to see people get inspired to give back or share food with the needy,” she says.

Guerriero often blogs about her adventures around Jackson and says she loves the city for its diversity. “There’s a great sense of community,” she says. “We are all trying to better our city.”

To read more, visit Guerriero’s blog at biancamadonna.wordpress.com.

—Abigail Walker

contents 4 ............ Editor’s Note 6 ............................ Talks 10 ........................... OP/ED 10 .................. SORENSEN 14 ............ Cover Story 19 ........... food & Drink 20 ......................... 8 Days 21 ........................ Events

Kira Ciummings; courtesy the District at Eastover; Stephen Wilson

May 2 - 8, 2018 | Vol. 16 No. 35

6 Zoo Brewhaha

A wily city council is at odds about zoo move plans.

10 Cultivating Cuisines

Check out the first four vendors for The District at Eastover’s Cultivation Food Hall.

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

22 Mr. Fluid Fights Conformity

“I started conceptualizing the album around that idea of, ‘OK, we’re the faceless masses,’ so to speak, you know? The working man.” —Michael Norris, “Mr. Fluid: Fighting Conformity”

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

21 ....................... sports

3

editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

Love, Good Deeds and the Jackson Zoo

T

ruer words have never been spoken. “The fact is the zoo could have tripled the attendance it has now, but the white people in the suburbs are not comfortable taking their families to west Jackson,” reader “Scott” wrote on the JFP website under Ko Bragg’s report on Mayor Lumumba’s belated proclamation about keeping our zoo in west Jackson.

The mayor was reacting to news that the zoo board—which has three city appointment vacancies—finally relented and voted to move the zoo to the eastern edge of Jackson. He called the zoo’s move “disingenuous” and “disrespectful” to west Jackson.

Scott said more about those suburban white folks: “Whether they are justified in feeling that way is totally irrelevant because unfortunately, in this world perception is reality. ... Now if you move it to an area they are comfortable with, then you’ll see a huge rise in attendance and revenues immediately.”

Yep. The move likely would see more attendance, at least until those same people stop being “comfortable” with whatever demographic shifts might occur near the new zoo in the next couple decades. What if the area gets, say, the Hispanic influx that Ridgeland has seen? Then, it’s hit the road again, Jack.

These conundrums have long resulted when white people decide to pick up and move, rather than stay, invest, collaborate and co-exist with newcomers in the area they’d called home. Still, Scott’s white-people point was weird because he had just complained that I dared talk about disparate treatment of black and white gang members in another piece.

One can’t really have it both ways—

everything can’t be about race when you want it to be, but not when it makes you uncomfortable. The truth is that many of our nation’s challenges are precisely about people wanting distance from “the other.” That curse hurts us all—like having to pay for a new zoo or to make up for disinvestment around it—is precisely why we keep facing these poorly manufactured disinvestment crises.

The history put simply: Whites flee

If Mississippi can do this, so can the nation. and disinvest; others follow; they flee again. It’s dizzying shortsighted.

The previously trendy Metrocenter sits lonely in an area whites fled. Other whites wanted to stay but couldn’t because their property values tanked as the neighborhood “tipped” too much. As areas decay, better-off black people follow the flight pattern, taking more wealth away from abandoned areas. Once the train leaves the station, it’s hard to stop.

Then the cycle repeats. As I’ve been driving around the city recently checking distribution routes, I’ve seen areas more downtrodden than 15 years ago when I set up those routes, and not just in west Jackson. South Jackson has shifted in front of our eyes from one of the more diverse middle-class areas in the city when we started to a region battling

economic decay and increasing crime.

I drove around recently with the indefatigable Ronnie Crudup Jr. looking at properties his nonprofit is working to restore. I was astonished to hear how little gorgeous homes there are worth now.

Why? Because the area is too black.

All over the U.S., white people are quick to pack up and move, and live like nomads to barely stay in front of demographic shifts. Then, as Scott points out, they demand that everything good they left behind (schools, churches, a zoo) pick up and follow them. Then, and only then, will they re-invest. Their children deserve it, but kids left behind are somebody else’s problem.

This selfish habit is hard-wired in America, and perpetuates cycles of poverty, violence and lack of opportunity. It’s rooted in historic turf battles, usually racial or ethnic. Most of the street gangs in Mississippi now started in Chicago 50 or so years ago. Why? Because tough white neighborhood “greaser” gangs banded together to fight the encroachment of Puerto Ricans and African Americans into their neighborhoods. While they fought over turf, many white families kept moving further on out.

So it is with our zoo. White people fled. The area decayed. Nearby schools struggle with too little funding, while the new ones near the resettled tax base thrive. White people like Scott shrug and say “perception is reality.” Sadly true— but how in hell are we all OK with that?

Excuse me while I keep believing that Mississippians now can be different than our grandparents. We can keep loving them while realizing bigotries and fear have caused their children to grow

up far from their own family cemeteries deep in the city. Maybe their progeny are even afraid now to visit their graves due to the roots they helped rip up.

Another commenter said she finds the condition around the zoo now “disrespectful.” She wrote: “I remember how beautiful the immediate Zoo surroundings were back in day as a child. Let the Zoo move and then make good use of the land. Open a community center there and maybe a large Central Park.”

Disrespectful to whom more than the residents? And who pays for that park if the City has to support a zoo-onwheels that keeps following transients wherever they decide is white enough to drop an anchor? Will donors and business owners who insist on the zoo moving then reinvest back in west Jackson, or in the newest plowed-up cow pasture?

Folks, I believe this cycle can be interrupted, and our state and nation be healed in the process, but it is going to take every person owning responsibility for the bad and the ugly that created this mess of division, and its solutions.

My challenge is to put down welcoming roots, get to know “the other” better than you do now, mentor children and invest in our damn existing neighborhoods.

To borrow a wise suggestion, let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. We cannot give up meeting or living together, even if that’s a horrendous habit we inherited. Start by investing your time and resources into the area and the people around the Jackson Zoo. And go see Debbie the Spider Monkey. Let’s choose not to be what outsiders expect: If Mississippi can do this, so can the nation.

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

contributors

4

Arielle Dreher

Abigail Walker

Ko Bragg

Kristin Brenemen

Stephen Wilson

Micah Smith

Zilpha Young

Kimberly Griffin

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

Abigail Walker is a freelance writer from Clinton, Miss., who spends most of her time playing with her corgi puppy, Eudora Welty. You can find her at Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson. She wrote the Jacksonian.

City Reporter Ko Bragg is a Philadelphia, Miss., transplant who recently completed her master’s in journalism. She loves traveling and has been to 25 countries to date. She wrote about the zoo and city workers’ salaries.

Art Director Kristin Brenemen is a meganekko with a penchant for dystopianism. She’s recovering from two intense months of sewing and leatherwork, and already wants to do more. She designed the cover and much of the issue.

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

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

Zilpha Young is an ad designer by day, and painter, illustrator, seamstress and freelance designer by night. Check out her design portfolio at zilphacreates.com. She designed ads for the issue.

Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin is a Jackson native who loves Jesus, her mama, cooking, traveling, the Callaway Chargers, chocolate, her godson, working out and locally owned restaurants, not necessarily in that order.

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5

“Having four deaths in three months—is that a high number for you?”

— SPLC attorney Jody Owens in federal court questioning the warden of East Mississippi Correctional Facility during trial last month.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Thursday, April 26 Toyota Motor Corp. announces it is investing $170 million and adding 400 jobs at its Mississippi assembly plant in Blue Springs. ... Bill Cosby is convicted of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Friday, April 27 Big House Books, a nonprofit that sends free books by request to inmates, files a lawsuit against the South Mississippi Correctional Institution because inmates there cannot receive books that are donated, unless they’re religious.

Saturday, April 28 Donald Trump calls for the resignation of Montana’s Jon Tester, the Democratic senator who released what Trump called “false” allegations that scuttled Trump’s nomination of White House doctor Ronny Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

Sunday, April 29 A group of 200 Central American migrants who journeyed in a caravan to the U.S. border turn themselves in and ask for asylum, only to have U.S. immigration officials announce that the San Diego crossing is already at capacity. ... Lonnie Taylor, a rising Jackson rapper who performed as “Lil Lonnie,” dies after someone shoots into his vehicle in a drive-by shooting.

6

Monday, April 30 U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden sentences Luis Enrique Moran-Vargaz, an undocumented immigrant, to eight months in federal prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens in the U.S. Tuesday, May 1 Rep. Mark Baker, R-Brandon, announces that he will run for Mississippi attorney general next year.

Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

@JaCkSOnFrEEPrESS

@JxnFrEEPrESS

Jackson Zoo: Pulled from Two Directions

by Ko Bragg

J

ackson City Council President Charles Tillman of Ward 5 asked the members to use diplomacy during a conversation about the Jackson Zoo at last week’s meeting. Not everyone took that to heart as the discussion turned both humorous and tense.

Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes placed an item on the April 24 council agenda to terminate the contract with the Jackson Zoo in about 90 days in the wake of its board voting to move it to the eastern side of Jackson. He held up a copy of the contract, claiming the zoo did not necessarily need money because all they had left were “a few parakeets.”

“They ran this zoo into the ground,” Stokes said. “You can let them stay there all you want to, but they’re killing this zoo, and they’re going to kill west Jackson.”

Stokes’ item did not pass, and instead went into an ad hoc committee. But if it had, in three months the City would have had to either run the zoo itself or contract with another organization to take over for the Jackson Zoological Society—the nonprofit overseeing the zoo now.

Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. then called for the administration to come together to develop a financial plan, and although he said he did not mean to

Ko Bragg

Wednesday, April 25 The Jackson City Council votes to accept Public Works Director Bob Miller’s proposal to overhaul the Siemens Inc. water-billing contract and recoup millions in missing water revenue from local customers.

@JxnFrEEPrESS

Seven animals at the Jackson Zoo belong to the City of Jackson, and four of them are out on loan. K.D. Knox the giraffe, pictured above, belongs to the Jackson Zoological Society. It also has a spider monkey named Debbie.

take the issue lightly, he joined in on the fun. “Let’s be real, we can’t send water bills, we can’t fix potholes,” he said. “... I don’t know how to take care of a giraffe. I’ve got a great deal of faith in Dr. (Mukesh) Kumar, I don’t think he knows how to take care of a monkey.” Kumar is the City’s director of planning and development.

The City ran the zoo before the zoo

society stepped up in 1985. Since then, in varying capacities, the local government and the zoo’s leadership have shared responsibility for the facility, but neither entity has reached a consensus on how to move forward, and whether to stay or move.

A Blended Family The City owns the land the zoo has been on for almost a century and leases it to the zoo society for $1 per year. Everything inside it dating back to when the original contract was drawn in 1985 belongs to the City. Supplies and things of that nature are gone, but the City still owns seven animals: one alligator out on loan, one Aldabra Tortoise out on loan, one West African Dwarf Crocodile out on loan, one flamingo, one cockatoo, one Spider Monkey named Debbie and one orangutan also out on loan. All of the other animals from the rhino to the giraffe belong to the society.

The animals are sort of like a blended family. If the City ends the contract with the society, or vice versa, something like a custody battle would ensue. Everything except the animals belonging to society would be transferred back to the City, including the responsibility to run the zoo. more ZOO see page 8

“It sounds to me right now that the zoo is presumed to be this catalyst for change that it is simply not capable of being.”

“Let’s be real, we can’t send water bills, we can’t fix potholes. ... I don’t know how to take care of a giraffe.”

— Trey Jones, the Jackson Zoo development director, responding to the City of Jackson’s comments about the zoo.

— Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. last week during the City Council meeting on the Jackson Zoo’s struggles.

B

Charter ‘Deserts’

Supporters see charter schools as a solution to low-income students having access to education choices, just as wealthier children have access to private schools. A new study from a pro-“school choice” group, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, found five “charter school deserts” in the state—meaning five high-poverty areas that have no charter schools.

The report identified west Jackson as a “charter desert.” The Charter Authorizer Board, which evaluates applications and ultimately decides whether or not a group can open a charter school, has high standards. Last year, only one of 12 applicants received clearance to open. So far, large chartermanagement organizations like KIPP or Imagine Schools, have yet to apply to run a charter school in Mississippi.

The Fordham Institute study found that many of the larger charter organizations are not moving to “the innerring suburbs of flourishing cities, which are increasingly becoming magnets for poor and working-class families priced out of gentrifying areas.” This could explain, in part, why large organizations are hesitant to come to the Magnolia State. -Funding could also be a part of it.

“It’s not that money is the whole thing, but let’s not kid ourselves, you have to have a decent per-pupil amount to make it work and have enough kids to make it work,” Amber Northern, the senior vice president of research at the

Who’s Applying?

Besides RePublic Schools, three locally formed organizations want to run charter schools in JPS beginning in 2019, letters of intent show. DeArchie Scott, a former public- then charter-school educator with 10 years of experience in DeSoto County and Memphis, wants to open Ambition Prep Charter School in west Jackson. Scott spent the last year touring dozens of charter schools around the country, documenting best practices.

“We’re here because of the need—because two out of 10 students are acquiring the skills necessary for college success,” Scott said, citing MDE assessment data from students in west Jackson.

A 2015 study from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that some urban charter-school students make greater gains than their peers at traditional public schools. The report, which did not look at Jackson’s charters, maintains that charter schools increase student performance in urban areas.

While it is early to identify trends, charter schools in Jackson have so far posted “D” and “F” grades, not unlike some of the JPS schools that surround them. Bardwell said the larger body of research on academic performance in charter schools shows that charters perform at the same level as public schools.

By August 2018, four Scott said his board has not acquired charter schools will be a building or location, noting that the auoperational in Jackson.

Four more groups want thorization will come first. to open schools in 2019.

Several education stakeholders are listed as proposed board members on the letter of intent for the school, including Elayne Anthony, dean of the JSU journalism department, and Laquala Coleman, the JSU dean of students.

Zikri Arslan, a Jackson State University chemistry professor, has applied as the

by Arielle Dreher board president of the Mississippi Information and Technology Schools to open a grades 5-12 school. The school would

“It’s just not sustainable. There’s no way that any provide computer-science AP courses, the group’s letter of school district, even the most well-funded school district, intent letter says. No specific location is identified in the could take a $8 million hit and have it not have effects.” application.

In the case of JPS, that number will increase in coming Rep. Greg Holloway, D-Hazlehurst, who voted against years as long as the four charters continue to add students. the charter law in 2013, is listed as a board treasurer for the Smilow Collegiate has 230 kindergarten and first graders group. Arslan did not respond to calls at the number listed enrolled for this fall, RePublic’s website shows, and it proj- on the intent letter and emails for this story. ects to have 900 students by 2025.

The fourth group looking to open another charter

Bardwell says the school districts are getting hit twice, in Jackson is Success Prep Incorporated. Monesca Smith, with underfunding from the state at the outset and then who is listed as the founder, lists only one board member charter schools syphoning not only their per-pupil state on her application. Success Prep would eventually serve all funding but also their local tax dollars. grades, the intent letter says. Groups who submitted intent

“In a district like JPS that is already underfunded, letters to run charter schools must apply by May 8 to be you don’t have to be an expert to predict what is going to considered in the 2019 application cycle. From there the happen—what is already happening,” he said.

Charter Authorizer Board evaluates all the applications and announces who can open new schools this fall.

Fordham Institute, told the Jackson Free Press.

“[Y]ou have to guarantee a sort of enrollment to make sure schools are healthy.”

Public-school advocates decry charter schools for their adverse impact and financial drain on public schools. The Southern Poverty Law Center challenged the funding provisions of Mississippi’s charter law and continues to appeal the lower court’s ruling in the Mississippi Supreme Court.

SPLC attorney Will Bardwell said the costs to JPS are only accelerating with time.

“In 2015-2016 the total cost of charter schools to JPS was a little over $1.8 million. Again, that’s a lot, but it’s not apocalyptic. But two years down the road, you’ve gone from $1.8 roughly to about $8 million—so you’re getting pretty close to apocalyptic,” Bardwell, who filed records requests to calculate his numbers, said.

Imani Khayyam File Photo

y August, four of Mississippi’s five charter schools will be up and running in the state’s capital city. The state’s charter wave could continue in the next application cycle, with the highest number of groups wanting to open charter schools since the first year they were allowed to open in 2014.

Four groups have submitted letters of intent to open new charter schools in the Jackson Public School District.

RePublic Schools, the only charter-management organization to operate schools in the state, plans to submit an application for the first charter high school in the state, called RePublic High School.

RePublic High would share a campus with Smilow Prep, a charter middle school and Smilow Collegiate, a charter elementary, scheduled to open in August.

RePublic staff did not return repeated calls and messages left for this story.

State law only allows charters that do not have permission from the local school board to open in “D” and “F” districts , and the JPS experience with charter schools could help explain why.

Since Reimagine Prep and Midtown Public Charter School, Mississippi’s first two charters, opened in 2015, JPS has sent more than $12 million in state and local tax dollars to the three charter schools operating in the district.

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

More Charters Ahead for Jackson?

7

TALK | city

City Employees Demand Raises for All, Not Just Clerks

by Ko Bragg

8

or three raises in his 23 years with the City.

A woman who has worked at the 911 call center for over 20 years incited cheers from the crowd inside council chambers as

ZOO from page 7

“disingenuous” and “disrespectful,” namely because donors are willing to move it to Jackson’s suburban—and whiter—border but not fund the zoo where it stands in a majority-black neighborhood that has suffered the effects of white flight and disinvestment in recent decades.

Priester said he believes the relationship with the zoo can be salvaged. But with the zoo’s contract ending Sept. 30, he suggested the City put out requests for proposals for other organizations to run the zoo.

Ward 4 Councilman De’Keither Stamps agreed, urging healthy competition.

The zoo society now has full authority to run the park, but needs approval from the mayor if it wants to construct and alter buildings, and has to provide the mayor with a written report of any animal leasing, trading or purchasing.

City funding is promised in the contract at $880,000, increasing by $10,000 each year beginning in 2007, a contract that then Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and Jackson Zoo Director Beth Poff signed in 2006 shows.

But the City does not technically have to meet that mark every year because the contract only requires it to provide money “as funds are available.”

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba committed more money to the zoo than the previous administration had in the last fiscal year, but his $980,000 was still less than the $1.5 million in City funding the zoo requested in budget hearings.

Trey Jones III, development director at the Jackson Zoo, said it is reaching a point where the zoo could not operate without full City funding, but moving could potentially alleviate the City’s sole responsibility to fund the zoo by potentially introducing a multi-county district.

The mayor has called the zoo’s move

she asked for all workers to get the “healthy raise” the clerks got. “A 5.23-cents raise an hour for non-essential employees is a hard pill to swallow,” she said. “… How in the Imani Khayyam / File Photo

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

A

911 dispatcher, a union representative and a records clerk for the Jackson Police Department walked into City Hall last week ready to give the council a piece of their minds. While this sounds like the beginning of a bad bar joke, it is the scene-setter for a grim reality: City employees are fed up with low pay and disparate treatment.

The tipping point was a recent city council-vote to authorize a pay raise of over $5 more per hour for part-time city council clerks without applying raises citywide.

City workers came to the April 24 council meeting with picket signs reading “Can’t Balance the Budget on Our Backs.”

Among them was Jon Byrd who works in information systems for the City of Jackson.

“They’re cherry-picking who should get money and who should not have money,” Byrd told the Jackson Free Press.

Byrd said that he has only gotten two

The City of Jackson’s employees’ union, the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees, Communications Workers of America, will meet Thursday, May 4, to decide next steps to protest the raises given to part-time city council clerks and no other city employees. Union members are pictured at a protest in 2016.

Catalyst for Change?

Trey Jones looked on from the rear of the council chambers last week, and texted Mayor Lumumba to ask if he should speak and clear up some misconceptions, but he decided against it.

Jones said it feels like no one is listening—and not just because he did not speak before the council.

“I don’t know if we’re being heard,” Jones told the Jackson Free Press Friday.

“[W]e love the mayor and we love his vision for the City. But if the City can’t step up right now and make major investment, not only around the zoo but even coming in with some significant financial support for some of the infrastructure needs inside ... how do we move forward? What kind of zoo are we going to be?”

In October, Lumumba told the Jackson Free Press he was pursuing a blight-elimination grant to deal with the dilapidated homes in west Jackson surrounding the zoo, but the Mississippi Home Corporation grants are for work for Virden Addition, not west Jackson.

At the council meeting, the mayor pointed out that the “whopping nine months” he has been in office have not been enough time to improve west Jackson.

The main road leading from the highway to the zoo shows evidence of patchwork over some potholes, including the infamous one that used to be filled with an orange traffic barrel. Earlier this month, the City identified $4 million from the 1-percent sales tax funds to repair streets around the City, but has not yet identified the exact roads to undergo construction.

Jones said although it seems like the zoo will be yet another “abandoner” in west Jackson, it is the City’s responsibility to be an urban planner for west Jackson and to remedy the neighborhood, not the zoo’s.

“It sounds to me right now that the zoo is presumed to be this catalyst for change that it is simply not capable of being, and it’s not just the Jackson Zoo—zoos across the country do not revitalize communities, revitalized communities revitalize zoos,” Jones said.

John Seyjagat is director of the Zoological Association of America, the associa-

world can the councilmen think they can justify this raise for part-time employees?”

A records clerk for the Jackson Police Department told the council that making $9.70 an hour leaves her struggling to support her 8-year-old daughter, adult daughter and two grandchildren staying with her.

She expressed the frustration of having to go to food banks or churches to get food, when Walmart employees make more than City employees—something the mayor has reiterated recently.

“We love our City so hard ... but you’re not valuing the people that you do have that’s still willing to stay here and stick it out with you,” she told the council.

Illegal Late Veto?

On average, each council member gets a full-time clerk and a part-time clerk, but individual council members decide how they want to run their office. Some opt for more clerks, and some have none.

tion that accredits the Jackson Zoo. He told the Jackson Free Press that in recent years he has not seen zoos actually move, but he has seen proposals for such action.

While Seyjagat said the area around the zoo was nice when he visited in 2016, he firmly supports the zoo’s move because he said the Yazoo clay under the buildings makes the grounds unsuitable for further construction. The clay leads to costly repairs to existing structures that crack because they shift in the clay, making it potentially dangerous for the animals.

“If you want to build a world-class zoo ... then you have to build it in an area where you can maintain it and guarantee its safety,” Seyjagat said.

Community members heavily involved with the zoo have told the Jackson Free Press that they have been left out of decisions concerning the move.

The zoo’s board of directors has long faced criticism for meeting behind closed doors, as its meetings are not open to the public. The City is supposed to appoint seven members—one from each ward— but three seats have been left vacant.

Starting in June, the zoo board has agreed to open its meetings, but as Jones put it, this “self-imposed policy” is subject to change anytime the board feels like it.

Read more at jfp.ms/zoo Email city reporter Ko Bragg at ko@jacksonfreepress.com and follow her on Twitter at @keaux_.

Most viral stories at jfp.ms:

1. “Mayor Commits to Zoo, West Jackson Development Projects� by Ko Bragg 2. “Lil Lonnie� by Danie Matthews 3. “Midnight Siemens Vote Designed to Recoup Millions, Correct Water Billing� by Ko Bragg 4. “Kennedy Owens� by Amber Helsel 5. “Sheriffs Decry Cutbacks, Private Prison Contracts� by Arielle Dreher

override a mayoral veto.

Lumumba told the Jackson Free Press that the minutes he received initially were incorrect and that he vetoed it on April 2 when he got a corrected copy. The minutes on the City’s website only reflect one mayoral veto of using the reserve fund for clerk salaries. However, Lumumba told the Jackson Free Press that he also vetoed both the initial pay raise vote from Jan. 3.

Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks responded to the mayor’s comments at the council meeting to say he had told City employees that, in his opinion, the mayoral veto was illegal because of the delay.

Banks defended his vote at the council meeting last week to raise the part-time clerks’ salaries because they end up working full-time, sometimes going to events on weekends and using gas to get to various things around the City, even though they are only paid for part-time hours and do not receive benefits.

The Union Fights Back Other city employees, however, say they work just as hard as the clerks.

Brenda Scott, union president of Mississippi Alliance of State Workers/ Communications Workers of America, said she respects the mayor, who ended furloughs for city employees early in his tenure, and she recognizes that raises will not happen overnight given the City’s financial climate.

Many city workers also appreciate the mayor’s veto, but they still have demands. “What we would like to see done is for the raises given to the clerks to be rescinded until the administration and the council as a team can identify resources and funding in order to give all of the city employees a raise,� Scott said.

Foote told the Jackson Free Press that he is not going to try to rescind the item because he accomplished what he set out to do, and he wishes the council was in a position to give everyone a pay raise.

Scott said she and other union leaders as well as city employees will meet Thursday to come up with the next steps to make their presence and dissatisfaction known.

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

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The salary bump for part-time council clerks came up on the agenda when Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote wanted to hire a specific person for the role who he believed had a strong skill set.

Foote said the new hire did not want to work full-time, but she had the skills to be paid more than the $9.70 an hour allotted for part-time workers. “The purpose of the pay raise was to try to find a happy medium there,� he told the Jackson Free Press.

April Rigsby began working as a parttime clerk for Foote on Monday, and she and the handful of other part-time council clerks now make almost $15 an hour.

The council voted 4-1 on Jan. 3 to approve the part-time deputy-clerk position pay raise from $9.70 per hour to $14.93 per hour. Ward 4 Councilman De’Keither Stamps voted nay, and Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. and Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes were absent.

At its Jan. 18 meeting, the council voted to take the money out of the City’s reserve fund to pay for the raise because there was not enough money in the clerk budget. The mayor vetoed this action on April 2, and the city council voted to overturn his veto on April 10 with a vote of 5-1—Stokes was out of the room, and Priester voted nay. “One of the reasons I agree with the mayor’s veto is that we’ve got too many city workers who have not had a raise in far too long, and we have worked very hard over the last couple of years to build up the City’s rainy-day funds for the storms ahead,�

Priester told the JFP. “There’s clouds on the horizon, so I think the strategical raise is not in alignment with the goals and the opinions of most citizens or city workers.�

At the council meeting last week, the mayor addressed whispering among city council members and city employees that his veto was illegal because it came three months after the council’s vote.

State law says that the mayor has 10 days, not including weekends or holidays, to either approve items or veto them.

Without the mayor’s approval, nothing can go into effect unless he fails to return an ordinance or resolution to the council before the next meeting. The council can elect to

9

Making Daddy Proud

A

s I reminisce over my years thus far, I’m drawn heavily to conversations I had with Daddy before his transition. Looking back now, I realize that every verbal encounter we shared, particularly after he was diagnosed with cancer (and transported us to New York from Clinton, Miss.), was intentional. It’s evident that he was determined to leave me with a lasting impression. He used words that would mean nothing to a 10-year-old but would one day mean the world to a grown woman. One conversation keeps churning in my heart.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Daddy asked me. I could tell he was genuinely interested. He wanted to feel me out, see what type of mentality I was developing. I’d never seen my dad work for anyone but himself. He was his own boss, with many employees, so I’m sure my response was concerning.

“I want to be a secretary, Daddy,” I proudly proclaimed. You see, I fancied a secretary as a powerful businesswoman who dressed in the finest garbs, carried a briefcase, and was the first person everyone saw or spoke to in the office. As a chubby kid, I struggled with self-love. I couldn’t even really see my future, but I knew it was important. Based on what I’d seen so far, I reckoned that a secretary was a smart woman that demanded attention. I wanted to own the confidence that would require.

I didn’t expect my father’s response.

“Why?” He asked. “... Why would you want to work for someone else when you can be your own boss? You can have your own secretary.”

His voice haunted me almost daily during my 15-year tenure in state government. I heard it every time I created a letter and passed it off to someone else to sign. I felt it when I had to call someone when I was sick or had to get approval to use my

I had to leave and create my own lane. earned personal time for a day off. It echoed when I had bright ideas that others took credit for or overlooked.

My middle name, Folayan, means “to walk with dignity.” But each minute of the day I spent working in a system I didn’t believe in, lending my power there, my dignity was compromised. It was no less than a slow death for me. I understand that it works for many, but Howard Spencer didn’t raise his child to operate in that system, or any other system that didn’t embrace my voice or acknowledge my people. I had to leave and create my own lane if I wanted to live up to his legacy and build my own.

It’s been a year since I regained control

of my destiny by opening the creative, collective, computer co-op, the Kundi Compound. While it certainly won’t make me rich, and I don’t wear business suits every day, I do sign my name to my own letters. I do control my time. I do get to explore my own bright ideas. Most importantly, I do the work that feeds my soul without having to run it by someone first.

For the first time since Daddy transitioned, I can see something that would make him proud. I realize that for 30 years, this is what I’ve been aching to accomplish.

Regardless of where the journey leads, this feeling is immeasurable. Every daughter wants to make her daddy proud, right?

My 10-year-old self finally understands what Daddy must have been feeling when I couldn’t see the value in ownership and the power in community contribution. But now I see. I vow to continue the work we’ve started at Kundi Compound. I am thankful to have the opportunity to do the work and be the voice for those who are being silenced.

The Kundi Compound’s (256 E. Fortification St.) anniversary reception is Friday, May 4, at 11:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. Funmi “Queen” Franklin is a word lover, poet, a truth-yeller and community activist.

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

City Council, Stop Posturing and Start Preparing

W

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

ard 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, dare we say, stoked the fire at last week’s Jackson City Council meeting during the heated conversation on moving the Jackson Zoo. Despite his efforts to bring the contract with the Jackson Zoological Society to a premature end, last week’s meeting lifted the smoke screen and revealed a lot more posThe City of turing than proactivity may be going on around the zoo and other vital city Jackson concerns. deserves Stokes rattled off misinformation proactive about the zoo, its leadership and even leadership. the animals there. He interrupted Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay, who is the only sitting council member to have served on the zoo board and the only woman, as she tried to clarify the confusing zoo contract. When Stokes spoke over her, she decided to let him continue—she has advocated for more proper council decorum in at least a few meetings.

10 Lindsay had a good point, too: The council needed to

pause to get on the same page, which they had not yet done before Stokes’ hasty suggestion.

Although Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. engaged with Stokes as he rattled off a list of animals on loan, the next day he went to visit the Jackson Zoo to take inventory for himself, then posted pictures on Facebook of animals Stokes said were no longer there.

The council, as evidenced in the city-clerk salary story this issue (see page 8), has the last say in legislative issues and has the most authority to shape the city. Many of them have been on the council far longer than Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba has been in office, meaning both as Jackson residents and constituent representatives, they could have gotten on one accord and effectively forced a decision or at least a public conversation about the zoo long before the board made up its mind to hightail it to LeFleur’s Bluff.

They could’ve also ensured that all wards have appointed members in place on the zoo board that is making these decisions with three empty seats. If they’re not going to do the due diligence, late-night outbursts of poor facts are just counter-productive. The City of Jackson deserves proactive leadership on all fronts.

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Private Prison On Trial Inmates at ‘Bleak’ Facility Tell Harrowing Stories

by Arielle Dreher

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

MDOC File Photo

M

erlin Hill could not stop shaking as the bailiff led him to the witness stand. The prisoner was still trembling as he raised his right, cuffed hand to swear he would tell the truth on March 15, 2018, in the fourth-floor federal courtroom in downtown Jackson.

Hill, a gaunt white man in his 50s, wore glasses, a white “MDOC CONVICT” shirt and black-and-white striped pants. He was one of 19 inmates who testified during the five-week class-action trial against the Mississippi Department of Corrections for what they describe as appalling conditions at the privately run East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian.

Unlike his appearance, Hill’s testimony seemed steadier. Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Jody Owens asked Hill about his medication regimen, a lengthy combination of drugs that, Hill said, helped him feel “normal.” Hill said one of his medications, Klonopin, keeps him from shaking, but had run out the night before, just like it does almost every month. He is diagnosed with paranoia, schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder, among other conditions, he said. Without his medication, his disorders can be unbearable.

“Sometimes I have murderous thoughts, suicidal thoughts, it’s unbearable sometimes,” he told the court.

Hill was convicted of rape in 1998, choosing to serve a life sentence after he opted against taking a plea deal. He is one of more than 1,200 inmates at EMCF where MDOC houses a large population of inmates with mental-health needs.

Eighty percent of inmates at the prison facility are mentally ill.

In 2013, a group of inmates sued the Mississippi Department of Corrections over treatment, conditions and care they claim are unconstitutional at the prison.

The litigation dragged on, and in 2015, U.S. Senior District Judge William H. Bar14 bour certified the case as a class-action com-

Inmates at EMCF have attempted to get relief from the federal court system since 2013 for appalling health care, sanitation and safety conditions they list in their lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

plaint on behalf of all inmates at EMCF. After failed settlement agreements, the case finally went to trial this spring.

The question at the heart of the case is whether any of the inmates’ seven claims, from lack of sanitation or safety to medical care, violate their Eighth Amendment rights to be free from “cruel and unusual punishment.”

‘Pill Call’ Behind Bars

At least two inmates sat in on the trial every day, usually chained around the waist, some handcuffed. Employees from the prison as well as the court bailiff sat behind them or in the public court seating.

Attorneys from New York and Washington, D.C., with the ACLU National Prison Project and the private firm Covington & Burling joined local SPLC attorneys to represent the inmates. They were a diverse lineup of men and women, constantly changing who was taking the lead each day.

A smaller group of private attorneys, from Bradley and Phelps Dunbar, who

were all white and predominantly male, represented the state. The warden at EMCF, Frank Shaw, usually sat with the defense attorneys and was in court for the majority of the trial. The plaintiffs’ presentation lasted nearly a month, with attorneys calling inmates, staff workers at the prison and experts to testify about conditions there.

Inmates testified that EMCF nurses bring their medications to the window of the zone and say “pill call.” If they do not make it up to the window at that time or hear the call, they can miss getting their medication altogether.

Warden Shaw testified that sometimes pill call happen on schedule, even as it is set once for the morning and once for the evening. When asked if staff has skipped pill call, Shaw said “it’s happened before.”

The private prison claims to offer individual and group therapy, but throughout the course of the trial, evidence revealed that the facility only recently opened an acute mental-health unit. Plaintiffs’ attorney Erin Monju pointed out in her closing

argument that the new facility on Housing Unit 3 is serving about five inmates, with some receiving group therapy and none receiving individual therapy as of trial time.

Inmates also testified to starting fires when they could not get the attention of picket officers or other officers when they needed medical or mental-care attention.

EMCF is one of three operational private prisons in Mississippi, all of which Utah-based Management and Training Company operates. MTC took over the contract to operate EMCF in 2012. Mississippi taxpayers pay MTC over $150 million in contract fees to house about 3,200 inmates in the three private facilities.

MDOC contracts with MTC to run EMCF and also pays Centurion, a subsidiary company of the Centene Corporation to provide medical and mental-health services at the Meridian facility. The State has a monitor, Vernell Thomas, who can oversee the prison and activity there, as a part of its contract agreement. Attorneys representing the inmates used her reports during the trial

are officially allied with those two gangs with members watching their allies’ backs.

Shaw and his staff monitor “STG” or security threat groups, he testified, in order to ensure they equalize the numbers of members so they do not manipulate pods.

Gangs are in both public and private prisons in Mississippi. Earlier this year, MDOC and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety corrected the data contained in the state’s 2017 gang threat assessment. As of December, about 32 percent, or 6,087 of the more than 19,000 inmates in MDOC custody, claim a gang affiliation. The Mississippi Association of Gang Investigators, a nonprofit made up of law enforcement officials and prosecutors, told The ClarionLedger last year that they estimate that 53 percent of verified gang members in the state are white. Black Mississippians make up nearly 62 percent of the inmate population behind bars, however, and only black gang members were prosecuted under the state’s gang law from 2010 to 2017.

During the EMCF trial, MDOC’s own court monitor, Thomas, would not testify in open court for fear of retribution from gang members. Videos shown in open

after Owens showed him one recorded incident where staff members stood by while an inmate ran up to another inmate’s cell, kicked another inmate through the cell door and ran off.

Shaw has been the warden at Wilkinson County Correctional Facility during his time with MTC as well as at a facility in Arizona called Kingman. In July 2015, inmates rioted at that facility while Shaw was the complex administrator there. Inmates destroyed enough property that the Arizona Department of Corrections had to relocate more than 1,000 inmates.

“The targeted destruction of MTC property, together with the near absence of destruction of inmate personal property and the absence of inmate-on-inmate violence, strongly suggest that the riots were more likely precipitated by inmate dissatisfaction with MTC’s operation of the prison than by anger among the inmates themselves,” Arizona’s Department of Corrections stated in a report.

MTC lost the contract to run Kingman after the riots, and Shaw returned to Mississippi to be warden at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility.

Rogelio Solis/AP

Owens asked of the deaths at the East Mississippi facility so far in 2018.

“I don’t define it as a high number. It’s an unfortunate number,” Shaw responded.

Hill, the inmate who trembled throughout his testimony, testified seeing a man choke to death in the hallway in January.

Another inmate died during the course of the trial in the hospital bringing the death count at EMCF to five this year, Owens said after the trial

Defense attorneys, technically defending the state in the case, relied on two narratives when it came to inmate harm. First, they argued that the inmates themselves cause a lot of violence and self-harm. When attorneys representing the plaintiffs brought up contraband, weapons and self-harm, often the defense’s response was to point to an inmate who tore down the light fixture to make the contraband weapon or clog his toilet by trying to flush items down it.

Lawyers representing the State of Mississippi also said a lot of the plaintiffs’ claims Assaults and Gangs were common in other prisons around the

Barry Melton is serving a 40-year state and country. sentence for possession of a controlled sub “When you have 1,200 men who are stance with intent to distribute, but the milhardened criminals … murderers, rapists itary veteran did not commit a … living in close proximity, crime of violence. Instead, vioyou’re going to have fights,” lence found Melton when he W. Thomas Siler, an attorney got to EMCF, he testified in defending the State of Missisfederal court in March. sippi, told Judge Barbour in his

“I was tied up, beaten for closing argument. about four hours … and I was

The State called Ken sexually assaulted,” Melton said McGinnis, a former warden on March 14. He went on to in Illinois who now consults describe being assaulted on on corrections, as a witness to July 24, 2016, by “several gang analyze the rates of assaults in members,” who thought he the facility. Using data MTC had taken drugs that belonged provided, McGinnis concludto them. ed that the rates of assault were

“They wanted to check not significant. inside me,” Melton said. “…

“And the problem with He stuck a large magic marker most of these units, the numup my rear end to see if I had bers are so small that statistisome drugs (they thought) I’d cally it’s basically irrelevant, but taken.” it gives you some indication of

Melton bled for almost what’s going on and where the three months after the assault, majority of incidents were ocCJ Rhodes (center), the president of Clergy for Prison Reform, gathered members to pray outside even after trying to get medical curring with assaults,” McGinthe federal courthouse before closing arguments in the EMCF trial on Monday, April 9. attention. He saw a nurse on nis testified. “And not surpristhe day of the assault in July but ing, at least to me, the majority would not see a doctor until September, he court revealed inmate-on-inmate assaults Cause of Death? of those were going on in the mental-health said in court. Since his assault, Melton was with staff either on or off the zone, and Attorneys representing inmates point- area and in segregation.” transferred to another MTC private prison, in some instances not interfering with in- ed to several inmate deaths as proof that “Segregation” refers to inmates who Wilkinson County Correctional Facility. mates at all. The majority of MTC staff are those housed at EMCF are at risk of harm, are kept in single-unit cells, separate from

His testimony aligned with what women; the inmate population at EMCF but the warden maintained that violence other inmates and isolated from other parts other inmates who testified said about gang is all men. and death are at every correctional facility. of the facility. members running the facility. Warden Shaw Warden Shaw testified that it can be “Every correctional facility that I’ve Attorneys for the inmates argued that would later call Melton a “chronic com- dangerous for his staff to interfere with ever worked at has a different number of McGinnis’ numbers were not correct, findplainer,” saying he tends to make up stories. inmates, especially when they manipulate deaths. People unfortunately die in cus- ing a few reports not included on his list.

Shaw also said the Gangster Disciples and and take off their handcuffs. Some inmates tody,” Shaw said when Owens cross-exam- SPLC counted 160 assaults in 2016 and 99 Vice Lords have the most members in his must wear restraints when they are consid- ined him April. assaults in the first six months of 2017. facility and that the other gangs fall in line ered a high security risk outside their cells.

“And as people unfortunately die with those two groups. Major gangs such as “It can be very dangerous for staff to in custody, having four deaths in three the Simon City Royals and the Latin Kings approach an inmate like that,” Shaw said months, is that a high number for you?” more PRISON, see page 17 15 May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

to show that sometimes she has identified problems that, they said, were never fixed.

MTC, which paid for the private attorneys to defend the State, maintains that the facility is safe, secure and has improved under its management.

“The Southern Poverty Law Center has painted a completely unfair and inaccurate picture of the East Mississippi Correctional Facility. It is nothing like they’ve described,” a statement from the corporation says. “The majority of the inmates who have been at the facility since 2012 would agree they’ve seen significant improvements in safety and security, quantity and quality of programs, respect, and overall conditions since MTC took over.”

Videos created by MTC released during the trial show freshly painted walls and what appears to be a sterile facility. Inmates’ testimony depicted different conditions inside, however, and complaints went far beyond missing doses of medication.

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To assist the students seeking enrollment in our program, we are launching a special RN-BSN Prep track which will allow RN’s to complete any missing prerequisites at Belhaven! And because we recognize the critical need to expand the number of BSN’s in Mississippi we are also funding a special Belhaven Mississippi RN-BSN Scholarship Program to assist students that qualify afford the RN-BSN program or the RN-BSN Prep track.

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May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

The foreclosure sale bidding is limited to governmental entities and non-profit organizations.

16

PRISON ‘Not Going to Do It’

Ultimately, a lot of problems at EMCF appear to boil down to staffing levels, testimony revealed. When the state contracted with MTC to run EMCF in 2012, the State sought to cut costs by using a private vendor to operate the facility.

The original contract signed in 2012, on the state’s public contract portal, shows that the state only pays $26.24 per minimum-security inmate; $31.19 per medium-security inmate; and $71.11 per singlecell security inmate every day.

At the time, these costs were cheaper than what MDOC was paying to house its own prisoners. Since the initial contract was signed, Commissioner Pelicia Hall has renegotiated the MTC contracts she told lawmakers at the Capitol in April.

“We pay a per diem of about $41.74 in our private facilities because they have to by law operate those facilities at a rate of at least 10 percent less than the Department of Corrections, so they have some blended rates,” she said at the Capitol April 23.

However, the bond indebtedness the state incurred on its private prisons is enormous. Mississippi still owes more than $81 million for building EMCF alone, which the State will not pay off until 2023. The State’s bond debt totals nearly $218 million on the three operating private prisons and

viewing on the Transparency Mississippi.

During the trial, MTC and MDOC employees testified that current correctional officers and medical staff levels cost more than the currently required contract obligation. In other words, both MTC and Centurion are paying some staff with their own money, not the State of Mississippi’s money.

Gloria Perry, MDOC’s chief medical officer who is a named defendant in the lawsuit, testified that EMCF is still looking for a chief psychiatrist. Perry testified that although Centurion proposed about 60 full-time medical-care employees for the facility in 2016, MDOC proposed to cut that to 43.

“What was the reasoning to do that … to save money?” Judge Barbour asked her.

“Yes, sir. We were under constraints from the (state) contract review board,” Perry said.

Barbour asked about the funding that the Legislature cut from MDOC’s budget, which might have led to cuts in staff.

“We use the same contract (that requires 43 medical personnel). Centurion added more staff, but they’ve done it at their expense—the state of Mississippi is not paying for that,” Perry testified.

Centurion currently has 52 medical

on the Transparency Mississippi website.

MTC also staffs EMCF at higher levels than its contract with MDOC requires.

Warden Shaw testified that he has 177 correctional officers on staff at EMCF. He has approved adding officers during his time at the prison. The MTC-MDOC contract only requires 136 officers, however.

“Could you go back to 136?” Owens asked Shaw during trial.

“Not going to do it,” Shaw said.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys maintained that there is nothing contractually stopping MTC from dropping back to what even their organizations have deemed—by their actions at least—too low of staffing levels at EMCF. Recruitment, especially for mentalhealth care workers, is a statewide struggle that Judge Barbour alluded to during closing arguments.

“Where does the State of Mississippi find enough state psychiatrists to come to a rural area?” Barbour asked SPLC attorney Elissa Johnson during closing arguments.

Johnson maintained that MDOC has decided to send inmates with mental-care needs to EMCF and that the State enjoys no constitutional exception.

“The Mississippi Department of Corrections has demonstrated deliberate indifference,” Johnson said. “… The Commissioner has been aware of these issues since

Private Prison Bonds Private Prison Marshall County Correctional Facility Wilkinson County Correctional Facility Walnut Grove Correctional Facility (closed) East Mississippi Correctional Facility

Total $$ Owed $2.8 million $22.5 million $110.9 million $81.6 million

Date to be Paid Off August 2018 2021 2027 2023

$217,982,382 total bond-debt of private prisons Source: based on 2018 figures provided by the Mississippi Department of Corrections

Walnut Grove, which shuttered in 2017— bonds taxpayers will be on the hook for through 2027, MDOC numbers show.

MTC paid for private attorneys to defend the State in the federal lawsuit, because Mississippi law creates immunity for the State in the case.

When MTC came to run the facility in 2012, even defense attorneys admitted the facility was a “bleak place.” MDOC and MTC negotiated staffing levels at the time—and then renegotiated them in 2014. The state is paying MTC more than $92 million to run EMCF through July 2022, according to the contract, which was modified in 2017 and is now available for

personnel employee openings, and 48 of those are occupied, Monju confirmed during questioning at trial. Centurion is paying for the employees above the 43-employee mark, Perry said.

“They felt that additional staff was necessary,” Perry said.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys pointed out that Centurion could drop personnel levels back down to 43 employees at any time, due to how the contract is written. Centene provides medical services in all of MDOC prisons, private and public. The most recent contract between MDOC and Centurion runs from July 2016 to June 2019 and is valued at nearly $150 million. It is posted

she’s been in office.”

Martin Horn, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said that private prison contractors will usually do what a state asks them to do—but this is spelled out in the contract.

“I would say typically when we see poor performance in private prisons, the fault is perhaps more with the contracting state or municipality than it is with the private operator,” Horn told the Jackson Free Press. “… (Perhaps) the state is trying to do this on the cheap.”

Where is the ‘Dividing Line’?

Judge Barbour certified the inmates’

case as a class-action lawsuit back in 2015.

But after several failed settlement agreements, the case went to trial this spring.

Defense attorneys consistently relied on the claim that the prison had improved significantly since MTC took over in 2012.

Barbour, a Ronald Reagan appointee who is a cousin to former Gov. Haley Barbour, seemed intent on moving the trial along whenever he could. By the third week, Barbour vocalized his irritation with the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

At one point, ACLU attorney Eric Balaban was questioning Bruce Gage, a psychiatrist and expert witness in the case.

Gage described the risks of inmates being isolated in segregation unit.

“Did you find anything that was done right with medical at EMCF?” Judge Barbour asked Gage.

“Prescribers were a bright spot,” he said, noting that the medical staff at EMCF seemed to be giving inmates what he viewed to be the proper medications for their conditions in most instances.

Balaban continued to question Gage, but Barbour seemed irked. He grew impatient with the style of questioning. When Balaban asked to show a video, the judge refused to see another one. He told him to move along with his testimony, but when Balaban returned to his prepared questions for Gage, Barbour cut him off.

“Why can’t you change so you don’t irritate the judge?” he asked. “… The mental health is not good. You don’t have to prove every mental-health problem in this prison.” Barbour cut Balaban’s questioning off and ended court 10 minutes before he normally did, telling the plaintiffs to shorten their testimony in the coming week.

Judge Barbour toured the prison facility after the plaintiffs’ attorneys concluded their arguments and before the defense’s rebuttal. Attorneys for both the defense and the plaintiffs, along with the warden, toured the facility before Easter weekend.

EMCF was in the midst of an audit from the American Correctional Association at the time of the visit.

“My observation from the tour of the prison was it was pretty well spit-shined.

Unit 5 (the segregation unit) had been repainted and appeared to be clean,” Barbour said. “… Should I take that with a grain of salt with plaintiffs noting that ACA came in three days before?”

Siler said the facility is in good condition and could not recall it looking any different. The State requires ACA to certify all its private prisons and to audit the facili-

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

from page 15

more PRISON, see page 18 17

PRISON from page 17

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

to remedy any grievance he finds to be unconstitutional.

Ultimately, Barbour will have to decide if any of the seven claims amounts to “cruel and unusual punishments” defined in the Eighth Amendment. If the judge believes some of the inmates’ claims are credible, he will have to decide how to hold MDOC responsible for its contracts that have led to conditions at EMCF.

“This is the problem with private prisons,” Welch said. “How the hell do you enforce it when they screw up?”

Reeves kept the facility under the consent decree. A year later, MDOC closed the prison permanently.

“MDOC’s budget is lower than what we anticipated,” then-Commissioner Marshall Fisher said in a press release in 2016.

“Pursuant to an intensive budget review and evaluation, we have determined this is the most prudent action. We have the space in our state-run prisons to house the 900 inmates at Walnut Grove.”

Former MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps signed all of the initial private-prison Rogelio Solis/AP

ties every three years. EMCF passed its past ACA inspection and is compliant with the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Ultimately, Barbour was looking for what he called the “dividing line.” He asked Johnson and Monju repeatedly where the line was when it came to what level of mental and medical health care is needed for inmates or what rate of assaults is commonplace in other prison facilities.

“Don’t assaults happen at every prison handling mental-health inmates?” he asked Johnson during closing arguments.

Neither party seemed to budge on their views that the prison was in bad shape or just fine.

“I can’t get the plaintiffs to say anything good, and I can’t get the defendants to say anything is wrong,” Barbour said.

Beyond the dividing line, Barbour was also looking for a potential solution. He repeatedly asked Johnson and Monju, “What do you want me to do?”

Technically, the complaint asks the court to rule on seven specific grievances, deeming the treatment of prisoners unconstitutional. It also asks the judge to order MDOC to develop a plan to address the “substantial risks of serious harm” to inmates in the facility, and for the defense to pay their attorneys’ fees.

During closing arguments, Monju and Johnson said the judge could order a staffing analysis at the facility or mandate that MDOC create an oversight system or appoint a monitor to the prison.

None of these remedies is listed in their complaint, however.

Owens and Johnson said their requests for relief are broad solutions because there are several different approaches to remedies.

Ron Welch, a retired Mississippi prison litigation attorney, says in most of the major prison cases where a judge takes action, he or she will appoint a court monitor to come in and inspect the prison regularly for progress, depending on what conditions need to change.

“I think if you have a neutral third party, the judge can appoint an expert to go in and look and report every quarter, at a minimum,” Welch said in an interview.

Welch explained that sometimes judges will order attorneys to submit proposed findings of fact and then issue an order based on those briefs.

But Barbour would not even let plaintiffs’ attorneys argue for post-trial briefing.

Instead, he asked each side for a list of cases they referenced in closing arguments. Judge Barbour could also direct the legal teams for 18 both parties to come up with an agreement

MDOC Commissioner Pelicia Hall (center) would not speak to the media after the East Mississippi Correctional Facility trial concluded. She testified briefly in the case. She is pictured here outside the federal courthouse during the trial.

Future of Private Prisons

After the State passed a massive criminal-justice reform package in 2014, the number of incarcerated Mississippians dropped, leading to less of a need for private prisons. Or at least, that is what MDOC claimed when it closed Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, which was at the heart of a 2010 federal lawsuit and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation in 2006 for its maltreatment of youth who were previously housed in the facility until they were old enough to transfer to adult prisons.

In 2010, the ACLU Prison Project and SPLC sued the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility over conditions and won a consent decree for the facility. Inmates in that case testified about riots, violence and staff members smuggling contraband inside the prison. Similar to the EMCF case today, MTC had taken over the contract at Walnut Grove and alleged that conditions had greatly improved.

In 2015, U.S. District Judge Carlton

contracts with MTC. Epps was the epicenter of a massive bribery scandal, which landed him and Carl Reddix of Health Assurance LLC, which previously provided health care at EMCF, in federal prison.

Attorney General Jim Hood filed 11 racketeering civil lawsuits in response to the Epps scandal in 2017, including against MTC and Health Assurance LLC, for conspiring with Epps in the bribes. Neither of those claims has been settled.

The civil suit against MTC accuses the corporation of contracting with former Rep. Cecil McCrory of Rankin County to lobby on their behalf in order to secure a contract with Epps.

“MTC and McCrory pursued a common plan and course of conduct, acted in concert with, aided and abetted and otherwise conspired with one another, in furtherance of their common scheme to defraud the State,” the suit says.

“MTC knew, or should have known, that the ‘consulting fees’ it was paying De-

fendant McCrory were being used to pay bribes and kickbacks to assure that Defendant Epps would award public contracts, paid for by the State, to MTC.”

Both Epps and McCrory are in federal prison; Epps is housed in Texas, and McCrory is in Alabama. MTC maintains that it was not aware of the bribery scheme.

“MTC hired McCrory as a lobbyist to communicate with state leaders about the progress we were making in the Mississippi prisons we operated,” a statement from the corporation says.

“We had no idea he was sharing what we paid to him with Chris Epps. We terminated his contract immediately when we heard the reports.”

While Mississippi taxpayers owe millions of dollars for private-prison bonds, they did not have to pay to defend the state in the EMCF trial. State law says that “the contractor shall defend any suit or claim brought against the State of Mississippi arising out of any act or omission in the operation of a private facility, and shall hold the State of Mississippi harmless.”

MTC would not release the cost of litigation attached to paying for private attorneys to the defend the State for the last month. Whether or not Mississippi needs private prisons to house its population of around 19,000 inmates is also at the heart of this case.

On April 9, the sun lit up the federal courthouse on the day of closing arguments, and a few pastors gathered to pray on the steps. CJ Rhodes, the president of Clergy for Prison Reform, said his group formed in 2015 during the Walnut Grove trial. His group wants to reduce and eventually eradicate any private-prison contracts in Mississippi.

“I’m not convinced that if you have a profit motivation, you’re concerned about making prisons humane,” Rhodes said outside the courthouse.

“ … The criminal justice system (should be) about rehabilitation.”

Rhodes said his understanding of the gospels in the Bible lead him to believe that all people have an opportunity for redemption. He hopes Judge Barbour is not “soft” on the prison in his ruling.

Barbour said he will issue a written opinion. He did not allow plaintiffs’ attorneys to petition for post-trial briefing. He adjourned court before noon on Monday, April 9, as he crumbled up several pieces of paper sitting in front of him, clearly ready for a vacation.

Read more at jfp.ms/prisons. Email Arielle Dreher at arielle@jacksonfreepress.com.

Follow her on Twitter at @arielle_amara.

food&drink

by Amber Helsel

courtesy the district at eastover

Cultivating New Food

JFPmenus.com

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his summer, Jackson will have another addition to its food scene: the Cultivation Food Hall at The District at Eastover. If you do not know what a food hall is, it is a location that offers a mix of local chef-driven food concepts in one place. Cultivation, which is modeled after St. Roch Market in New Orleans, will have a total of eight vendors. On Tuesday, April 24, the District announced the first four concepts for the food hall.

comfort food with a twist such as crawfish poutine, and shrimp and grits with sausage, poached eggs or grits.

Local Honey

Martello also developed this concept, which he described in a press release as â&#x20AC;&#x153;healthy food, redefined.â&#x20AC;? The menu will include new takes on foods such as salads, steel-cut oats and quinoa bowls.

The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best Butts in Townâ&#x20AC;? features BBQ chicken, beef and pork along with burgers and poâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;boys.

The Pig and Pint / 4UBUF 4U +BDLTPO t Winner of Best of Jackson 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best BBQ.â&#x20AC;? Serving competition-style BBQ and a great beer selection.

MEDITERRANEAN/GREEK

Aladdin Mediterranean Grill -BLFMBOE %S +BDLTPO t Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma.

STEAK & SEAFOOD

Dragoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seafood Restaurant & $PVOUZ -JOF 3PBE +BDLTPO t

Whisk, a crĂŞperie by La Brioche PokĂŠ Stop

Rachel Phuong Le has been involved in the Jackson foodie community for years, but Cultivation Food Hall marks her debut as a business owner. PokĂŠ Stop will included poke bowls, which are basically deconstructed sushi. Patrons will be able to customize their bowls, and can choose from ingredients such as sauces of Leâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own making, and both cooked and raw proteins. See next weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issue for an interview with Le. Fete au Fete StrEATery

This New Orleans-based catering and food-truck business, which is the brainchild of chef Micah Martello, will serve southern

Event Highlights

by Amber Helsel

Want to do something foodrelated this week? Check out these events.

Cinco de Mayo at Las Taberna de Fenianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fenianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pub (901 E. Fortification St.) On observation of Cinco de Mayo on Saturday, May 5, Fenianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will celebrate Cinco

CrĂŞpe lovers, pay attention. The team behind La Brioche will run â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whisk,â&#x20AC;? which will have authentic French crĂŞpes with savory and sweet combinations.

The stall will serve the dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with ingredients such as ham and Gruyere cheese, and prosciutto with figs, arugula and balsamic, and La Briocheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gelato.

Cultivation Food Hall will be located on the ground floor of the BankPlus Building in The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Dr.). Along with the eight vendors, the hall will also have a cocktail bar. Developers estimate that the food hall will open near the end of the summer.

de Mayo with tequila flights, margaritas, tacos and live music from Joe Carroll. The event is from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more information, find it on Facebook.

Big Brew Day Lucky Town Brewing Company (1710 N. Mill St., 601-790-0142) On Saturday, May 5, Back Yard Outlaw Brewers will celebrate homebrewers. The event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, find it on Facebook.

Lucky Town Beer Dinner Sal & Mookieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint (565 Taylor St., 601-948-0055) Sal & Mookieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will host a beer dinner on Monday, May 7, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Tickets are $60 per person, and $32 for just the food.

For more information, visit salandmookies.com.

To see more events visit jfpevents.com, and visit jfp.ms/food for our food coverage.

Dragoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offers authentic New Orleans-themed seafood dishes, including their famous Charbroiled Oysters and fresh live Maine lobsters.

Eslavaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grille -BLFMBOE %S 'MPXPPE t

Eslavaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grille Seafood, Steaks and Pasta

Seafood, steaks and pastas with a Latin influence.

BARS, PUBS & BURGERS

Fenianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pub & 'PSUJm DBUJPO 4U +BDLTPO t

Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches & Irish beers on tap.

Green Room #PVOET 4U +BDLTPO t Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still #1! Best Place to Play Pool - Best of Jackson 2016

Hal and Malâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4 $PNNFSDF 4U +BDLTPO t Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or daily specials.

ASIAN

Bonfire Grill 4FSWJDF %S #SBOEPO t Brandonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new dine in and carry out Japanese & Thai Express.

Fusion Japanese and Thai Cuisine 5SFFUPQT #MWE 'MPXPPE t " )XZ .BEJTPO t Specializing in fresh Japanese and Thai cuisine, our extensive menu features everything from curries to fresh sushi.

Surin of Thailand 0ME $BOUPO 3E +BDLTPO t Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Newest Authentic Thai & Sushi Bar with 26 signature martiniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and extensive wine list.

May 2 - 8, 2018 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

At Cultivation Food Hall, Whisk, a crĂŞperie by La Brioche will serve both savory and sweet crĂŞpes.

Hickory Pit $BOUPO .BSU 3E +BDLTPO t

19

Wednesday 5/2

Friday 5/4

Monday 5/6

The Community Health Fair is at the Clyde Muse Center in Pearl.

Vibe Doctors perform at Martin’s at 10 p.m.

The Craftsmen Guild Spring Showcase is at the Mississippi Crafts Center.

BEST BETS May 2 - 9, 2018 courtesy celtic woman

Wednesday 5/2

“History Is Lunch” is at the Two Mississippi Museums (222 North St.) from noon-1 p.m. Author Ellen Meachem discusses her new book, “Delta Epiphany: Robert F. Kennedy in Mississippi.” Sales and signing to follow the discussion. Free admission; call 601-576-6998; email info@mdah.ms.gov; mdah.ms.gov.

Thursday 5/3

Celtic Woman is at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.) at 7:30 p.m. The Irish music group performs new productions and many songs, including Irish traditional and contemporary ones. $35-$100; ticketmaster. com. ... Mural Unveiling Celebration is at The Oaks House Museum (823 N. Jefferson St.) from 6-8 p.m. The Mississippi Heritage Trust will unveil a mural that symbolizes preservation and the organization’s mission. Includes live music, food and more. Free admission; call 601-3528850; find it on Facebook.

Friday 5/4

Mercantile Mississippi | Shopping Event is at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E Pascagoula St.) at 10:30 a.m., on May 4-5. The two-day shopping event includes

clothing, accessories, jewelry, art, gifts and more. The event also includes an appearance from Erin and Ben Napier of HGTV’s “Home Town” on Friday, May 4. Additional days are May 5 at 9 a.m. $10 admission; mismag.com. ... The “Joking Around” Comedy Series begins at 8 p.m. at The Hideaway (5100 Interstate 55 N.). The comedy show features performances from stand-up comics Shuler King, Michael Boyd and Mo Williams. Nardo Blackmon hosts.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Free with RSVP; eventbrite.com.

Saturday 5/5

courtesy Shuler King

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

20

Celtic Woman performs at Thalia Mara Hall on Thursday, May 3, starting at 6 p.m.

by Rebecca Hester

events@

The HRC Derby Day is from jacksonfreepress.com 3:30 p.m.-7 p.m., at Fairview Inn Fax: 601-510-9019 (734 Fairview St.). The Kentucky Daily updates at Derby-themed event includes live jfpevents.com music, auction, food and mint juleps. $50 in advance, $60 at the door; email rob.hill@hrc.org; find it on Facebook. ... The Jackson Medical Mall Spring Festival is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Jackson Medical Mall (3350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The family-friendly event includes food, live music, health screenings, art vendors and more. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

Sunday 5/6 Shuler King will perform during the “Joking Around” Comedy Series at The Hideaway on Friday, May 4.

Zoo Blues is from 4 p.m.-9 p.m., at The Jackson Zoo (2918 W Capitol St.). The musical event includes live music from the Bar-Kays, Calvin Richardson, Urban Mystic,

Vick Allen, Tre Williams and Karen Brown. The event includes musical entertainment, and variety of food and beverage vendors. $35 admission; call 601-3522580; jacksonzoo.org.

Monday 5/7

The Lucky Town Beer Dinner is from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., at Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint (565 Taylor St.). The dinner includes a meal from chef Dan Blumenthal paired with beverages from Lucky Town Brewing Company. $60 for beers and food; $32 food only; call 601-368-1919; email info@salandmookies.com; salandmookies.com.

Tuesday 5/8

The book signing for “The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships” is at Lemuria Books (4465 Interstate 55 N.) at 4:30 p.m. Author Suzanne Stabile signs copies with reading at 5:30 p.m. $24 per book; call 601-366-7619; lemuriabooks.com.

Wednesday 5/9

The Suicide Prevention Candlelight Vigil is at 6 p.m., at Hinds Behavioral Health Services (3450 Highway 80 W.). The event recognizes lives lost to suicide, loss survivors and those who are struggling with mental illness. Includes a candlelight vigil, balloon release, resource information, food, activities and more.

Free admission; call 601-321-2400; hbhs9.com.

and “White Gold: Thomas Sayre.” Free admission; find it on Facebook.

Community Health Fair May 2, 9 a.m.-noon, at Clyde Muse Center (515 Country Place Pkwy., Pearl). The health fair includes free health screenings, giveaways, door prizes and more.

The theme is “backyard picnic.” Free admission; rankinchamber.com.

Jackson Medical Mall Spring Festival May 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Jackson Medical Mall Foundation (3350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The family-friendly event includes food, live music, health screenings, art vendors and more. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

History Is Lunch: Ellen Meacham May 2, noon-1 p.m., at the Two Mississippi Museums (222 North St.). Author Ellen Meacham discusses her new book, “Delta Epiphany: Robert F. Kennedy in Mississippi.” Signing to follow. Free admission; call 601-576-6998; mdah.ms.gov.

Fondren After 5 May 3, 5 p.m., in Fondren. The family-friendly street festival takes place on the first Thursday of each month and includes live entertainment, food and drinks, arts and crafts vendors, pop-up art exhibits, pet adoption drives and more. Free admission; fondren.org.

Mercantile Mississippi | Shopping Event May 4, 10 a.m., May 5, 9 a.m. at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E Pascagoula St.). The two-day shopping event includes clothing, accessories, jewelry, art, gifts and more. The event also includes appearance by Erin and Ben Napier of HGTV’s “Home Town” on Friday, May 4. $10 admission; mismag.com.

Art and Coffee May 5, 10-11:30 a.m., at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.).

Spoken-word artist Monica Atkins and civilrights veteran Hollis Watkins lead participants through the galleries of “Picturing Mississippi”

SLATE

EXHIBIT OPENINGS Craftsmen Guild Spring Showcase May 6, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., at the Mississippi Crafts Center (950 Rice Road, Ridgeland). The annual showcase features an exhibition of crafts for display and sale, live music, a living history demonstration, and a craft beer and bloody Mary garden.

Free admission, $20 beer garden in advance, $25 at the door; call 601-856-7546.

KIDS Happy Mother’s Day! Story Time May 2, 10 a.m., at Medgar Evers Library (4215 Medgar Evers Boulevard). The story time includes a reading of the stories “Are You My Mother?”, “Llama Llama Misses Mama” and “I’ve Loved You Since Forever.” Each child will make a photo craft to take home. Free admission; call 601-982-2867.

Visiting Artist: Suzanna Ritz May 5, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd.). Participants will learn to create a

the best in sports over the next seven days

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

It was an interesting 2018 NFL Draft for the New Orleans Saints. After a sensational one in 2017, this draft did not have nearly the sizzle in post-draft evaluation.

THURSDAY, MAY 3

Cornhole (7:30-9:30 p.m., ESPN2): Fans play this game while they tailgate and during parties, but you can see the best players in the Johnsonville Cornhole Championships: ACL Mania.

FRIDAY, MAY 4

College baseball (6-10 p.m., SECN+): The Rebels look to solidify their postseason position at South Carolina, and at the same time, MSU tries to get something going at Alabama.

SATURDAY, MAY 5

College softball (1-4 p.m., SECN+): MSU hosts Tennessee as the Bulldogs try to get back on a winning track. ... College softball (4-7pm SECN+): The Rebels host second place Georgia as they try to get out of the cellar.

SUNDAY, MAY 6

College baseball (11 a.m.-2 p.m., SECN): The Rebels and Gamecocks

finish up their three-game series with possible postseason ramifications.

MONDAY, MAY 7

College baseball (9 a.m.-noon, ESPNU): Set your DVR to catch the replay of game three between MSU and Alabama to watch later on a slow sports day.

TUESDAY, MAY 8

NBA (7-11:30 p.m., TNT): A NBA Playoff doubleheader as Houston and Utah clash in game five, and Golden State and New Orleans battle in game five.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9

College softball (11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., SECN): Day one of the 2018 SEC Softball Tournament kicks off with four games.

The Saints’ trade to move up and select UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport was a controversial move, according to most draft analysis. If he is an instant pass rusher, the doubts will end quickly.

three-dimensional landscape with artist Suzanna Ritz. $10 per person and free for museum members; call 601-981-5469; email sbranson@mcm. ms; mschildrensmuseum.org.

SPORTS & WELLNESS Cinco de Mayo Mustache Dash May 2, 6 p.m., at Sombra Mexican Kitchen (140 Township Ave, Ridgeland). The event includes a 1- to 4-mile run. Participants can enjoy a free margarita or house beer after the run. Participants are encouraged to dress in festive attire for a chance win a $25 Sombra gift card. Free admission; fleetfeetjackson.com.

Brawn and Bubbles 5k Run for the Brain May 3, 6 p.m., at Reservoir Pointe (140 Madison Landing Circle, Ridgeland). The 5K run includes a run along the reservoir with a party afterwards.

Proceeds from the race go to the MIND Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. $35 registration, $65 VIP; raceroster.com.

Mississippi Girl Choir Spring Concert May 6, 3-4 p.m., at Galloway United Methodist Church (305 N. Congress St.). The Bel Canto and Bella Voce singers will perform a repertoire of traditional choral pieces. $15 admission; msgirlchoir.org.

Zoo Blues May 6, 4-9 p.m., at The Jackson Zoo (2918 W. Capitol St.). The musical event includes live music from the Bar-Kays, Calvin Richardson, Urban Mystic, Vick Allen, Tre Williams and Karen Brown. $35 admission; call 601-352-2580; jacksonzoo.org.

STAGE & SCREEN “Joking Around” Comedy Series May 4, 8 p.m., at The Hideaway (5100 Interstate 55 N.). The comedy show features performances from stand-up comics Shuler King, Michael Boyd and Mo Williams, with host Nardo Blackmon. Doors open at 7 p.m. Free with RSVP; eventbrite.com.

CREATIVE CLASSES

FOOD & DRINK

Inner Reality Upgrade: The Energy Wheels in Sound w/Igor Iwanek May 8, 6-7:30 p.m., at Jax-Zen (155 Wesley Ave.). The three-part workshop includes exercises in rewiring the brain for awareness and presence. $25 per session or $60 for a three-session package; call 601-691-1697; email contact@jax-zenfloat.com; clients.mindbodyonline.com.

Cinco de Mayo May 5, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., at Sombra Mexican Kitchen (111 Market St., Flowood).

The celebration includes drink specials, live music and family-friendly activities. Free admission, menu prices vary; call 601-215-5445.

LGBT HRC Derby Day May 5, 3:30-7 p.m., at Fairview Inn (734 Fairview St.). The Kentucky Derby-themed event includes live music, auction, food and mint juleps. $50 in advance, $60 at the door; find it on Facebook.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS Celtic Woman May 3, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The Irish music group preforms. Features new productions and traditional Irish and contemporary songs. $35-$100; ticketmaster.com.

EmiSunshine May 3, 7:30 p.m., at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The east Tennessee artist, whose latest album is titled “Ragged Dreams,” performs. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; ardenland.net.

Vibe Doctors May 4, 10 p.m., at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 S. State St.). The jazz band from Jackson, Miss., performs. $10; martinslounge. net.

Pearl Day Festival May 5, 9 a.m., at Pearl City Park (3000 Highway 80 E.). The family-friendly festival includes antique car show, arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, a kids zone, live music and more. The event includes peformances from Burnham Road, Nashville South and Sara Evans.

Concert begins at 5 p.m. $10 concert admission; find it on Facebook.

Mississippi Boy Choir Spring Concert May 6, 3-4 p.m., at Ascension Lutheran Church (6481 Old Canton Road). The spring concert is themed “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing.” Admission TBA; call 601-665-7374.

Cinco de Mayo at Las Taberna de Fenian’s May 5, 5 p.m.-2 a.m., at Fenian’s Pub (901 E Fortification St.). The celebration event includes tequila flights, margaritas, tacos and live music. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

Lucky Town Beer Dinner May 7, 6-8 p.m., at Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint (565 Taylor St.). The dinner includes a meal by chef Dan Blumenthal paired with beverages from Lucky Town Brewing Company. $60 for beers and food; $32 food only; call 601-368-1919; email info@salandmookies.com; salandmookies.com.

LITERARY SIGNINGS Events at Lemuria Books (4465 Interstate 55 N.) • “The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma’s Table” May 4, 5 p.m., Author Rick Bragg signs copies with reading at 5:30 p.m. $28.95 book; call 601-366-7619.

• “The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships” May 8, 4:30 p.m. Author Suzanne Stabile signs copies with reading at 5:30 p.m. $24 book; call 601366-7619; lemuriabooks.com.

BE THE CHANGE Blood Drive and Rally to Save Moms and Babies May 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the south steps of the Mississippi State Capitol (400 High St.) The event raises awareness about maternal and infant deaths in Mississippi. Free admission; call 601-953-9993; email israel@sistersinbirth.org.

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.

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

COMMUNITY

21

music

Mr. Fluid: Fighting Conformity

by Micah Smith

Kira Cummings

Michael Norris, who performs as Mr. Fluid, will have a release party for his newest album, “WC INC,” at The Flamingo on Friday, May 11.

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

MONDAY Red Beans & Bangers

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

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

TUESDAY Chicken Curry

THURSDAY Drunken Hamburger Steak

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

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

22

WEDNESDAY Fried Pork Chop

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

FRIDAY Fish & Grits

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

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

“H

ang on just one second,” Michael Norris says as he steps outside on break from one of two day jobs.

It’s 12:10 p.m. on a Monday in late April, and he has agreed to a phone interview to talk about his other job as Mississippi rapper and producer Mr. Fluid. While he would rather be on a stage or in the studio, his past work experiences are part of the inspiration behind his third album, “When Conformity Is Not Comfortable,” also stylized as “WC INC.” He began developing the project shortly after completing his 2015 album, “The Sowing,” and although “Conformity” continues the combination of drumand-bass and hip-hop sounds from that release, Norris says that he had another direction that he wanted to go conceptually.

Local artist Kira Cummings helped bring that idea into the visual realm on the album cover, which features Norris surrounded by a group of gangrenous ghouls clad in the familiar blue vests of a certain big-box store.

“The concept of the zombies and everything, being in a makeshift, satire Wal-Mart world, that just kind of came to me,” he says. “I started conceptualizing the album around that idea of, ‘OK, we’re the faceless masses,’ so to speak, you know?

The working man.”

While Norris says that some songs on the album veer off a bit to address whatever he was feeling at the time, many others, including “Shop Til U Drop” and “I Want U,” deal directly with themes of individuality and oppression.

However, he also placed importance on the sonic quality of each song rather than being entirely tied to a premise.

“I don’t think I strayed from it very much, but I wanted this to be a concept al-

bum and also something that you could enjoy just hearing a song or two off of it,” Norris says.

In most cases, a rapper will work with a variety of producers, but as a producer himself, Norris handled nearly all the tracking and mixing for “Conformity.” He recorded the album in his home studio, which underwent a transition as he moved from an apartment in Richland to a trailer park in Pearl. He plans to move back to Jackson this summer.

Although the album is not heavy on featured artists, Norris brought in local musicians such as rappers Snuff and MC Inveigh, singer Michelle Brassfield and deejay 360 Degrees.

“I’d put the song together and kind of hear who I needed to get on there, so I worked that way,” Norris says.

“I didn’t do it politically or try to get my buddies on it, but at the same time, I would hear the song and say, ‘Oh yeah. I know who’s right for this.’”

With “Conformity” being entirely from the mind of Mr. Fluid, from the visual concepts to the sounds and lyrics, recording it was a different experience than many hip-hop albums, he says.

“If I were just an emcee getting beats, I would spit on different beats, and you know, if it didn’t work, I’d move on or whatever,” he says. “But me being the producer, I kind of have to make it work.

If a song isn’t right, then I may scrap it and start fresh, but it’s me from the beginning to the end.”

The “WC INC” album release party is at 8 p.m., Friday, May 11, at The Flamingo (3011 N. State St.). Performers include Mr. Fluid, 5th Child, Timaal Bradford, Flywalker and Vitamin Cea. Admission is $5 per person. For more information, find Mr. Fluid on Facebook.

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

Alumni House - Johnny Crocker 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Clinton High School - AttachĂŠ Spring Revue 7:30 p.m. $10 Dragoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Johnny Barranco 6-9 p.m.

Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Gator Trio 6:30 p.m.

Shuckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Proximity 7:30 p.m.

Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m.

MAY 3 - THURSDAY Brandon Amphitheater - Brantley Gilbert w/ Aaron Lewis & Josh Phillips 7 p.m. $19.75-$49.75 Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Clinton High School - AttachĂŠ Spring Revue 7:30 p.m. $10 Duling Hall - EmiSunshine 7:30 p.m. $10 advance $15 door F. Jones Corner - Maya Kyles & the F. Jones Challenge Band 10 p.m. $5 Fenianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Baxter Arender 9 p.m.

Fitzgeraldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Hunter Gibson 7-11 p.m.

The Flamingo - Vibe Doctors, Betsy Berryhill & The Vibe Tribe 6 p.m. free Georgia Blue Flowood - Aaron Coker Georgia Blue Madison - Jason Turner Hops & Habanas - Dazz & Brie 5 p.m.

Iron Horse Grill - Jesse Cotton Stone 6 p.m.

Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Steele Heart 6:30 p.m.

Lost Pizza, Brandon - Travelinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Jane Duo 6 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Gypsie Blu Duo 6-10 p.m.

Shuckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Road Hogs 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m.

Thalia Mara Hall - Celtic Woman 7:30 p.m. $35-$100 Underground 119 - John Causey 7-10:30 p.m.

MAY 4 - FRIDAY Ameristar Bottleneck Blues Bar, Vicksburg - Area Code 8 p.m.

Bonny Blairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Travelinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Jane 7:3011:30 p.m.

Char - Ronnie Brown 6 p.m.

Clinton High School - AttachĂŠ Spring Revue 7:30 p.m. $10 Club 43, Canton - Lovin Ledbetter 9 p.m. $10 Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eat Place, Florence Aaron Coker 7-9 p.m.

Dragoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Brandon Greer 6-9 p.m.

Duling Hall - Jon Langston 9 p.m. $15 advance $20 door F. Jones Corner - Jamell Richardson midnight $10 Fenianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Johnnie B. & Ms. Iretta Sanders 9 p.m.

Georgia Blue Flowood - Shaun Patterson Georgia Blue Madison - Chad Wesley Iron Horse Grill - Pam Confer 9 p.m.

ISH Grill - Mike Rob & the 601 Band w/ DJ Unpredictable 9 p.m.

Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Acoustic Crossroads 7 p.m.

Last Call - DJ Spoon 9 p.m.

Majestic Burger - Ralph Miller 6 p.m.

Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Vibe Doctors 10 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Third Degree 7-11 p.m.

Popâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saloon - Live Music 9 p.m.

Shuckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Chad Perry 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Hairicane 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $5; Dos Locos 10 p.m.-2 a.m.

Sombra, Flowood - Jason Turner Band 6-9 p.m.

Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Underground 119 - Fred T & the Band 8:30 p.m.

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

Sombra, Flowood - Twisted Grass 7-10 p.m.

Sombra, Ridgeland - Steele Heart 7-10 p.m.

Table 100 - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Underground 119 - Dexter Allen 9 p.m.

Wasabi - â&#x20AC;&#x153;Just Kickinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; It: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I Love the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;90sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Partyâ&#x20AC;? feat. DJ George Chuck, Nasty Sho & DJ Polo Jones 9 p.m. $15 advance $25 door WonderLust - Drag Performance & Dance Party feat. DJ Taboo 8 p.m.-3 a.m. free before 10 p.m.

MAY 5 - SATURDAY

1908 Provisions - Knight Bruce 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

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

Galloway UMC - MS Girlchoir Spring Concert 3-4 p.m. $15 Hot Shots, Byram - Sunday Showcase feat. Georgetown 3-7 p.m.

Jackson Zoo - â&#x20AC;&#x153;Zoo Bluesâ&#x20AC;? feat. The Bar-Kays, Calvin Richardson, Urban Mystic, Vick Allen, Karen Brown & Tre Williams 4 p.m. $35 advance $40 gate Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Travelinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Jane 6 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Road Hogs noon-4 p.m.; Waylon Halen 5-9 p.m.

Shuckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - The Axe-identals 3:307:30 p.m.

Table 100 - Raphael Semmes Trio 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dan Michael Colbert 6-9 p.m.

Wellingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Andy Hardwick 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

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

American Legion Post 112 - The XTremeZ 9 p.m.-midnight Cantina Laredo - Jonny Mora Mariachi noon-4 p.m.; Chris Boykin 5-9 p.m.

Char - Bill Clark 6 p.m.

Churchill Smoke Shoppe â&#x20AC;&#x153;Southern Brass Band

Karen Brown Extravaganzaâ&#x20AC;? feat. Southern Komfort, Soul Express Brass & more 6 p.m. $10 Clinton High School - AttachĂŠ Spring Revue 7:30 p.m. $10 Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eat Place, Florence - Jerry Brooks Duo 6:30-8:30 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Big Money Mel & Small Change Wayne 10 p.m. $5; Jamell Richardson midnight $10 The Feathered Cow - Ralph Miller 7-10 p.m.

Fenianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Joe Carroll 9 p.m.

Georgia Blue Flowood - Dustin Molden Georgia Blue Madison - Skip MacDonald Iron Horse Grill - Norman Clark & the Smokestack Lightninâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Band 9 p.m.

Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Faze 4 7 p.m.

Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - And the Echo 10 p.m.

The Med - Anissa Hampton w/ DJ Unpredictable & DJ Lil Walt 7 p.m. $10 advance, $40 table Pearl City Park - Pearl Day Festival feat. Sara Evans, Nashville South, Burnham Road, Pearl Jamz, Dwight Brown, Jessie Howell & more 10 a.m.-10 p.m. $10 Pelican Cove - Coolhands Trio 2-6 p.m.; Luckenbach 7-11 p.m.

Shuckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Acoustic Crossroads 3:30-7:30 p.m.; Hairicane 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $5; Josh Journeay 10 p.m.-2 a.m.

MAY 6 - SUNDAY

MAY 7 - MONDAY Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Hal & Malâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Central MS Blues Society (rest) 7 p.m. $5 Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Joseph LaSalla 6:30 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Two for the Road 6-10 p.m.

Table 100 - Andrew Pates 6 p.m.

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DINNER & A MOVIE

MISSISSIPPI FOOD TRUCKS â&#x20AC;˘ LIVE MUSIC â&#x20AC;˘ SCREEN ON THE GREEN

VOL.

MAY 8 - TUESDAY Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Dragoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Johnny Barranco 6-9 p.m.

Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Keys vs. Strings 6:30 p.m.

Last Call - DJ Spoon 9 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Acoustic Crossroads Duo 6-10 p.m.

Table 100 - Chalmers Davis 6 p.m.

MAY 9 - WEDNESDAY Alumni House - Larry Brewer 6:308:30 p.m.

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Dragoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Johnny Barranco 6-9 p.m.

Hal & Malâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - New Bourbon Street Jazz Band 6:30-9:30 p.m. free Kathrynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Gator Trio 6:30 p.m.

Old Capitol Inn - Ronnie Brown 6 p.m.

Pelican Cove - Bad Example 6-10 p.m.

Shuckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - Proximity 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Table 100 - Andy Henderson 6 p.m.

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THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018 THE ART GARDEN | 5-10 PM

May 2 - 8, 2018 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

MAY 2 - WEDNESDAY

COURTESY KAREN BROWN

MUSIC | live

RAIN DATE: june 21, 2018 380 SOUTH LAMAR STREET MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM of ART JACKSON, MS | MSMUSEUMART.ORG 23

50 Split into splinters 52 Harnesses for oxen 54 Garden of Genesis 55 Scrooge’s outburst 57 Bacon portion 59 Search (through) 63 Shaped like a zero 65 Sand down some menswear?

68 NPR correspondent Totenberg 69 Wonderstruck 70 Bauxite, et al.

71 “Electric Avenue” singer Grant (who turned 70 in 2018) 72 “I Got Rhythm” singer Merman 73 Abbr. in a Broadway address

BY MATT JONES

element #41) 35 Caught lampreys 38 Took the wrong way?

41 People who cut you off in traffic, say 42 Oklahoma city near Oklahoma City 45 Shortest of the signs 47 Meat that somehow sparked a 2017 Arby’s craze 49 Pic taken alone, or together (as the name doesn’t suggest) 51 Extremely 53 Canonized figure 55 Fibula or ulna

56 Dedicated 58 Dullsville 60 Emotion that’s unleashed 61 Claim on property 62 Crafty website 64 Make some eggs?

66 Ma who says “baa” 67 Blanc with many voices ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com)

Last Week’s Answers

For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800 655-6548. Reference puzzle #875.

Down

“What Am I Doing Here?” —somehow in the middle.

Across

1 1998 Apple rollout 5 #, outside of Twitter 10 Dog in early kiddie lit 14 “You’re in trouble!”

15 Buddy, slangily 16 Russian speed skater Graf who turned down the 2018 Winter Olympics 17 Request in exchange for some ones, maybe?

19 “Roseanne” of “Roseanne” 20 Confused 21 It’s sung twice after “que” 23 “Uh-huh”

24 Prepares leather 27 Bedtime, for some 29 Golden-coated horse 33 The Rock’s real first name 36 66 and I-95, e.g.

37 Surveillance needs, for short 39 1966 Michael Caine movie 40 Pound sound 41 Io’s planet 43 “You’ve got mail!” company 44 “The Great Gatsby,” for one 46 Harry and William’s school 47 General feeling 48 Some circus performers

1 Greek vowel 2 Castle surrounder 3 Affirmative responses 4 Snack notable for its residue 5 Retiring 6 Org. that honors sports legends 7 Author Kingsley 8 Bridge fastener 9 Looked closely 10 Convulsive sigh 11 Demand for your favorite band to perform at a county gathering?

12 Beast 13 Camping need 18 Palindromic address with an apostrophe 22 1978 Nobel Peace Prize co-winner Sadat 25 Preemie’s ward, for short 26 Rickman, in the “Harry Potter” films 28 Buddy 29 “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris 30 Heart chambers 31 Walked away from the poker table with cards face down?

32 Leaves off 34 Mythical weeper (and namesake of

BY MATT JONES Last Week’s Answers

“Sum Sudoku”

Put one digit from 1-9 in each square of this Sudoku so that the following three conditions are met: 1) each row, column, and 3x3 box (as marked off by heavy lines in the grid) contains the digits 1-9 exactly one time; 2) no digit is repeated within any of the areas marked off by dotted lines; and 3) the sums of the numbers in each area marked off by dotted lines total the little number given in each of those areas. Now do what I tell you—solve!! psychosudoku@ gmail.com

Ethiopia Yirg / El Sal Salvad vadoor Shade Grown Borboll Borbollon

anoot h e r lo ng d a y an BLEND

taffy / honey / roas roasted peanut peanuts C U P S E S P R E S S O C A F E.C O M

May 2 - 8, 2018 • jfp.ms

MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

24

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These days you have an enhanced ability to arouse the appreciation and generosity of your allies, friends and loved ones. The magnetic influence you’re emanating could even start to evoke the interest and inquiries of mere acquaintances and random strangers. Be discerning about how you wield that potent stuff! On the other hand, don’t be shy about using it to attract all the benefits it can bring you. It’s OK to be a bit greedier for goodies than usual as long as you’re also a bit more compassionate than usual.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

I bet that a healing influence will arrive from an unexpected direction and begin to work its subtle but intense magic before anyone realizes what’s happening. I predict that the bridge you’re building will lead to a place that’s less flashy but more useful than you imagined. And I’m guessing that although you may initially feel jumbled by unforeseen outcomes, those outcomes will ultimately be redemptive.

Hooray for lucky flukes and weird switcheroos!

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Born under the astrological sign of Cancer, Franz Kafka is regarded as one of the 20th century’s major literary talents.

Alas, he made little money from his writing. Among the day jobs he did to earn a living were stints as a bureaucrat at insurance companies. His superiors there praised his efforts.

“Superb administrative talent,” they said about him. Let’s use this as a take-off point to meditate on your destiny, Cancerian. Are you good at skills you’re not passionate about?

Are you admired and acknowledged for having qualities that aren’t of central importance to you? If so, the coming weeks and months will be a favorable time to explore this apparent discrepancy. I believe you will have the power to get closer to doing more of what you love to do.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

If you really wanted to, you could probably break the world’s record for most words typed per minute with the nose (103 characters in 47 seconds). I bet you could also shatter a host of other marks, as well, like eating the most hot chiles in two minutes, or weaving the biggest garland using defunct iPhones, or dancing the longest on a tabletop while listening to a continuous loop of Nirvana’s song “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” But I hope you won’t waste your soaring capacity for excellence on meaningless stunts like those.

I’d rather see you break your own personal records for accomplishments like effective communications, high-quality community-building0 and smart career moves.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was among history’s three most influential scientists. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) has been described as the central figure in modern philosophy.

Henry James (1843-1916) is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in English literature. John Ruskin (1819-1900) was a prominent art critic and social thinker. What did these four men have in common? They never had sex with anyone. They were virgins when they died. I view this fact with alarm. What does it mean that Western culture is so influenced by the ideas of men who lacked this fundamental initiation? With that as our context, I make this assertion: If you hope to make good decisions in the coming weeks, you must draw on the wisdom you have gained from being sexually entwined with other humans.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

“Every so often, a painter has to destroy painting,” said 20th-century abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. “Cézanne did it. Picasso did it with Cubism. Then Pollock did it. He busted our idea of a picture all to hell.”

In de Kooning’s view, these “destructive” artists performed a noble service. They demolished entrenched ideas about the nature of painting, thus liberating their colleagues and descendants from stale constraints. Judging from the current astrological omens, Libra, I surmise the near future will be a good time for you to wreak creative destruction in your own field or sphere. What progress and breakthroughs might be possible when you dismantle comfortable limitations?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

Mayflies are aquatic insects with short life spans. Many

species live less than 24 hours, even though the eggs they lay may take three years to hatch. I suspect this may be somewhat of an apt metaphor for your future, Scorpio.

A transitory or short-duration experience could leave a legacy that will ripen for a long time before it hatches. But that’s where the metaphor breaks down. When your legacy has fully ripened—when it becomes available as a living presence—I bet it will last a long time.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

When a critic at Rolling Stone magazine reviewed the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” in 1969, he said some of the songs were “so heavily overproduced that they are hard to listen to.” He added, “Surely they must have enough talent and intelligence to do better than this.” Years later, however, Rolling Stone altered its opinion, naming “Abbey Road” the 14th best album of all time. I suspect, Sagittarius, that you’re in a phase with metaphorical resemblances to the earlier assessment. But I’m reasonably sure that this will ultimately evolve into being more like the later valuation—and it won’t take years.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

According to my analysis of the astrological omens, love should be in full bloom. You should be awash in worthy influences that animate your beautiful passion. So how about it? Are you swooning and twirling and uncoiling? Are you overflowing with a lush longing to celebrate the miracle of being alive? If your answer is yes, congratulations. May your natural intoxication levels continue to rise. But if my description doesn’t match your current experience, you may be out of sync with cosmic rhythms. And if that’s the case, please take emergency measures. Escape to a sanctuary where you can shed your worries and inhibitions and maybe even your clothes. Get drunk on undulating music as you dance yourself into a dreamy love revelry.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

“Life never gives you anything that’s all bad or all good.” So proclaimed the smartest Aquarian 6-year-old girl I know as we kicked a big orange ball around a playground. I agreed with her! “Twenty years from now,” I told her, “I’m going to remind you that you told me this heartful truth.” I didn’t tell her the corollary that I’d add to her axiom, but I’ll share it with you: If anything or anyone or seems to be all bad or all good, you’re probably not seeing the big picture. There are exceptions, however! For example, I bet you will soon experience or are already experiencing a graceful stroke of fate that’s very close to being all good.

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proposed structure by filing a Request for Environmental Review with the Federal Communications Commission. The Federal Communications Commission strongly encourages interested parties to file Requests for Environmental Review online. Instructions for making such filings can be found at www.fcc.gov/asr/ environmentalrequest Interested parties that would prefer to file a Request for Environmental Review FORM 854 FILE Number: A1102325 by paper copy can submit to: FCC Branch Towers III, LLC is proposing to Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: construct a 199’ Monopole located1/4Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, mile W of N Flag Chapel Rd and 152 yards Washington, DC 20554 S of W Northside Dr., Clinton, MS 39056.

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

“Enodation” is an old, nearly obsolete English word that refers to the act of untying a knot or solving a knotty problem.

“Enodous” means “free of knots.” Let’s make these your celebratory words of power for the month of May, Pisces.

Speak them out loud every now and then. Invoke them as holy chants and potent prayers leading you to discover the precise magic that will untangle the kinks and snarls you most need to untangle.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

I hate rampant consumerism almost as much as I hate hatred, so I don’t offer the following advice lightly: Buy an experience that could help liberate you from the suffering you’ve had trouble outgrowing. Or buy a toy that can thaw the frozen joy that’s trapped within your out-of-date sadness. Or buy a connection that might inspire you to express a desire you need help in expressing. Or buy an influence that will motivate you to shed a belief or theory that has been cramping your lust for life. Or all of the above! (And if buying these things isn’t possible, consider renting.)

Homework: What’s the most important question you need an answer for in the next five years? Deliver your best guess to me. Freewillastrology.com.

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