v9n02 - JFP Issue: The Truth About Immigration in MIssissippi

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Vol. 9 | No. 2 // September 22 - 28, 2010

DAILYBREAKINGNEWS@JFPDAILY.COM

FREE

HIGHWAY 80:

SHINING STAR? LYNCH, P. 10

THE VIEW FROM

BEHIND THE LENS PERKINS, P 26

‘THE HELP’

CRAFTED BY

MISSISSIPPIANS MODAK-TRURAN, PP 29-31 GETTING BACK

TO ‘SLIM’ WARREN-TATUM, P 44

ON THE TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION IN MISSISSIPPI LYNCH, PP 16 - 22

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September 22 - 28, 2010

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3KRQH ‡ (PDLO DGLFNHUVRQ#GHOWDVWDWH HGX Delta State University is committed to a policy of equal employment and educational opportunity. Delta State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status. This policy extends to all programs and activities supported by the University.

September 22 - 28, 2010

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pa i d a dv e rt i s e m e n t

ackson is about to experience more than an R&B flashback, but a concert that will give all the ladies, and even guys, a reason to get out of the house. The Ladies Night Concert Tour, featuring the musical stylings of Avant, Ginuwine and Jagged Edge, will take place Saturday, October 2 starting at 8 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex. Tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations (The Mississippi Coliseum and BeBop Records) or online at www.ticketmaster.com; or, you can charge tickets by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Although Avant is an acclaimed songwriter with credits that include old school legends Ronald Isley of Isley Brothers and the Gap Bands’ Charlie Wilson, he’s not afraid to cover another writer’s material. Avant’s platinum debut “My Thoughts� established him as one of R&B’s breakout singer/songwriters. His string of platinum smashes – he’s sold over three million albums total – continued with 2003’s “Private Room� and “The Director� (2006), which boasted “Lie About Us� and “You Know What.� Ginuwine is back in the saddle with strong material and his trademarked style. Ginuwine first emerged in the music scene in 1996 with the multi-platinum disc “The Bachelor.� “Pony,� his first single, peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks for two weeks in late 1996, and reached number six in Billboard’s Hot 100. Joining Ginuwine and Avant during the Ladies Night Out Concert is Jagged Edge, a group that released their first album, “A Jagged Era,� in 1998. The album went gold and spawned the Top 20 R&B and Top 40 Pop Hit “Gotta Be.� Their next single, “He Can’t Love U,� appeared in the fall of 1998 and propelled the group into international fame and stardom. The single reached the Top 5 on the R&B chart, Top 20 on the Pop chart, and went Gold in the process. Get your tickets now at all Ticketmaster locations (The Mississippi Coliseum or BeBop Records), online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

September 22 - 28, 2010

jacksonian

VOL.

9 NO. 2

contents

Slumlords Beware

ADAM LYNCH; VALERIE WELLS; ADAM LYNCH; COURTESY WILLIAM MORROW

CARL GIBSON

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The city of Jackson adds clean-up costs to owners’ propertytax bills.

Cover photograph of Ulises Hernandez Ricon by Amile Wilson

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THIS ISSUE: 30 Years Later .............. Editor’s Note

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............................. Talk

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...................... Editorial

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........................ Stiggers

14

............................ Zuga

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...................... Opinion

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....................... Hitched

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.................. Diversions

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......................... 8 Days

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.......................... Books

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.................. JFP Events

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.......................... Music

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........... Music Listings

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............................ Food

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............................ Astro

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.......................... Sports

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.................. Body/Soul

Exonerations await three more wrongfully imprisoned, one posthumously.

james gray When performing at a blues venue in Jackson, James Gray, known as “Rock,” is almost always stylishly dressed and sporting a fedora, shuffling and twirling pretty women around with his left arm while his right sleeve stays tucked in his belt. If he doesn’t have a dance partner with his one good hand, he’s holding a microphone and singing Chubby Checker’s “The Twist.” To mere observers, Rock appears to be a fun, old soul who loves to sing the blues. But to those in the Jackson blues scene, he is welcomed onstage with applause and cheers, taking the stage with the likes of Sherman Lee Dillon, Jackie Bell and Jason Bailey. The 70-year-old moved to Jackson in 1957 from the small community of Purvis, Miss., just south of Hattiesburg. Rock says he’s been living the life of a Mississippi bluesman as long as he can remember. “We lived hard. I’m talking about going out and cutting wood so you can fuel the stove and cook dinner,” Rock recalls. “I had to drop out of school in the sixth grade and take a job with a construction company so I could help my family. I didn’t even have a Social Security card, but I was making a man’s money. Sometimes $300 to $400 every two weeks.”

Despite his age, Rock still enjoys Jackson into the wee hours of the early morning, performing at venues like Hal & Mal’s on Monday nights, and at the 930 Blues Café and F. Jones Corner on the weekends. “I used to play just about everything. I could play a mean guitar, some piano, flute, horn, all of that. I can’t do that no more, but the good Lord made sure I could still sing and dance, so that’s what I do,” Rock says. At the age of 18, Rock lost his right arm while saving a woman from getting hit by a train. Outside F. Jones Corner on Farish Street, he gestures toward the railroad just a few blocks away. “There was two trains coming each way, north and south. And she was drunk, running after the southbound, when she got her sleeve caught,” Rock says. “I ran after her and pushed her out of the way, before I got dragged under the car. It carried me about 20 feet, and the only thing that saved me was the train going the other way. It took off my arm, but I’m still alive. So I’m thankful for that.” Rock says the blues is what keeps him alive and well. “I’ve been singing since I was 8 years old,” he says with a laugh. “Ain’t no reason to quit now.” —Carl Gibson

16 Lies & Half-Truths Are immigrants to blame for economic woes or just the latest scapegoats?

33 Humpback, Humpback Author Tom Franklin tells why his newest book is set in the Magnolia state.

jacksonfreepress.com

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September 22 - 28, 2010

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

Sanctuary City

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top the presses. They’re calling Jackson a “Sanctuary City.” The only one in Mississippi. Pass the Champagne! It’s been only 40 years since the U.S. Supreme Court forced Jackson Public Schools, among others, to integrate “with all deliberate speed.” The Supreme Court finally lowered the boom on Mississippi and other states that had required segregation by law in our schools, libraries, on our public beaches and about anywhere else you could think of. By the time the high court forced our public schools to stop fighting the 1954 Brown v. Board decision over Christmas break 196970 (leading to thousands of white families fleeing Jackson Public Schools), the enforcers of the racist status quo had told lie after lie about black people in order to scare white people into going along with the scam. Just as antiimmigrant demagogues are doing today with their fuzzy statistics, con artists like Carleton Putnam (“Race and Reason”) filled books with supposed facts and stats meant to prove that African Americans are bad for America, violent, lazy and a drain on public resources. Less than 50 years ago, our racist mayor had his “Thompson Tank” to push back black folks who got out of line, and the power structure encouraged with their rhetoric (if not direct participation) act after violent act that left inspirational leaders like Medgar Evers dead in a pool of blood in front of his children. It will have been 50 years next May 24 since the Freedom Riders ended their infamous and bloody journey at the Greyhound station downtown and walked into the waiting paddy wagons of a Jackson police force that took them to jail for daring to use the whitesonly facilities at the station. It hasn’t been that long ago when city officials had young civil-

rights marchers dumped into the scorching, filthy livestock pens at the fairgrounds where they were mistreated for days. Many then would not have believed it possible that Jackson leaders would some day take a stand against bigotry and discrimination of non-white U.S. citizens. But they did. This summer, the Jackson City Council passed an ordinance essentially forbidding a repeat of the discriminatory Arizona legislation calling for police to profile anyone who looked like they could be an undocumented immigrant, including U.S. citizens who might share a certain darker skin tone. Our city took the opposite, more humane, intelligent and American approach, saying that police officers “shall not solicit” information to determine whether a person is complying with federal immigration law or ask a person seeking police services or is a victim of a crime to prove immigration status. The reasons for such an ordinance are so obvious to anyone but the most hateful and/ or desirous of hateful votes: (1) Police should not profile a U.S. citizen in order to demand immigration papers based on a feeling or their bigotry, (2) You should not have to prove immigration status to get police help when you need it, and (3) Requiring and/or allowing such profiling encourages undocumented immigrants to not report crimes, hurting themselves and future victims of the criminals who don’t get caught as a result. When I heard about this ordinance, I was proud of my city. It brought home how far we’ve come that we have leadership this compassionate about people who, for the most part, do not share their ethnicity or skin tone. (Not to mention the smart crime-fighting component of such an action.)

Alas, and tragically, this action was like red meat to the Republican “southern strategy” contingent in the state who still seem to believe that the only way they can get elected is by pitting white people against “the other.” Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant—probably the Republican front-runner for governor next year—wrote one of his carefully crafted antiimmigration campaign pieces, this one a letter hand-delivered to the City Council. He summarized the ordinance as “prohibit(ing) employees of the City of Jackson from verifying the citizenship or legal residency status of individuals, at least in some circumstances.” (Emphasis added.) Bryant then baited and switched, pointing out that “employers” in Mississippi can only hire “legal citizens” or “legal aliens”—which had nothing to do with this ordinance. He then said that the Legislature says it is “compelling public interest” of the state to require all state agencies to fully enforce federal immigration laws. Thus, he said, the ordinance “would appear to violate state law.” This letter made no more sense than Bryant’s 2006 political screed against immigration (see Adam Lynch’s cover story this issue). The ordinance did not call for police to violate federal law; it made it clear that their priorities are to help people, citizens and non, and not to violate the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens who happen to have dark skin. Over on his not-very-smart “Majority in Mississippi” blog, Republican Brett Kettridge stated what he seemed to consider an awful insult to the city in an Aug. 26 blog post: “Jackson Moves Closer to Sanctuary City Status.” I breathed a sigh of relief that the capital city of Mississippi could possibly be considered by anyone to be a “sanctuary” for oppressed people of color who are maligned and lied about for a few people to achieve political power. It was one of those moments when I realize just how much I love my city. What puzzles me, though, is the use of the word “sanctuary,” as if providing such a thing to people who need police assistance is a bad thing. Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines sanctuary as “the Holy Land … the holy place, the place of the Presence … God’s holy habitation in heaven.” The Dictionary of the Bible calls it “a place of holiness or security.” Yet, somehow, this attempt to do the right thing toward human beings—and humans who tend to have a damn fine work ethic and contribute to our economy, papers or not—is so horrible that anti-federal government types are blasting the city for not violating the constitutional rights of citizens to try to help the feds defend federal immigration law. The Majority in Mississippi blog post linked to a “The Original List of Sanctuary Cities, USA.” There we were again, the only city in Mississippi on the list. What a great message to send nationally about how much we’ve changed, at least in the capital city. We sure have come a long way from those livestock pens, baby.

Herman Snell Former music editor Herman Snell is a Jackson native, Eagle Scout and abstract painter who incorporates movement into his art. He was W.C. Don’s DJ in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s, and wrote for music, prose, film and philosophy magazines.

Adam Lynch Award-winning senior reporter Adam Lynch is a Winona native and graduate of Jackson State. He and his family live in North Jackson. E-mail tips to adam@ jacksonfreepress.com, or call him at 601-362-6121, ext. 13. He wrote the cover story.

Amile Wilson Amile Wilson is a dedicated Jackson filmmaker and media consultant and a part time politico. He’s worked in D.C., L.A., and a few countries, but always seems to come back to Jackson. He took the cover photo.

Holly Perkins Editorial intern Holly Perkins is originally from the Jackson area. Holly loves the arts—acting, painting, photography, writing and music. She plans to attend Belhaven University this fall and travel the world after she graduates. She wrote Hitched.

Carl Gibson Fresh out of Kentucky, Carl Gibson is a recent college grad, new to Jackson. In his spare time, he enjoys playing drums on Farish Street, seeing local bands, buying local, and riding his bike. He has yet to perfect his Southern drawl. He wrote the Jacksonian.

Anita Modak-Truran Anita Modak-Truran is a Southern convert, having moved here from Chicago over a decade ago with her husband and son. She loves the culture, cuisine and arts in these parts. She wrote about “The Help.”

Pamela Hosey Pamela Hosey is originally from West Point, Miss. She loves to write, read James Patterson novels and spend time with her family. She wrote a book piece.

Randi Ashley Jackson Account Manager Randi Ashley Jackson is a Brandon/Reservoir area native. She loves organic gardening and her goldfish GillBert. She strives to be the next Food Network star chef, if only in her own mind. She manages JFP sales accounts.

jacksonfreepress.com

editor’snote

7

news, culture & irreverence

Thursday, Sept. 16 A report prepared by Obama administration economists finds that the moratorium on deepwater oil drilling has little effect on the Gulf Coast economy. Both Louisiana senators disagree with the report, saying that it did not take small businesses into account. … The Central Mississippi Planning and Development District reveals plans to renovate the Highway 80 corridor, including the creation of office, residential and retail space along with bike trails. Friday, Sept. 17 Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski announces she will run as a write-in candidate in the November election for the office she now holds. Murkowski, a Republican, lost the Republican primary to tea partier Joe Miller. … The University of Southern Mississippi defeats the Kansas Jayhawks 31-16 in Hattiesburg, bringing Southern Miss to a 2-1 record this season. Saturday, Sept. 18 Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections are met with violence, and consequently, low voter turnout. Approximately 1,000 polling sites close nationwide because authorities cannot secure them. … The Mississippi Blues Trail places its latest marker in Grafton, Wis. near the former location of Paramount Records.

September 22 - 28, 2010

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Monday, Sept. 20 Britain withdraws the last of her troops from the Sangin district in Afghanistan. … Authorities arrest three women in Gulfport on charges of FEMA fraud, releasing them on bond. Tuesday, Sept. 21 North Korean state media announces that the ruling Workers’ Party will hold a conference on Sept. 28. There is speculation that the meeting is to appoint Kim Jong-il’s successor.

New Law Targets Neglectful Owners

A new state law gives the city of Jackson more leverage to get paid for its clean up and removal of dilapidated buildings like this one on Capitol Street.

T

he city will put more energy into Capitol Street’s dilapidated properties and will have a new state law to help out, Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said this week. Johnson said the city wanted to refocus on the Jackson Zoo, a park within a mature neighborhood containing considerable rundown properties.

“Livingston Park is an important part of the zoo property. The city hasn’t done as much as it’s needed to do,” Johnson said. He added that the city “got legislation passed” during the last legislative session that will allow it to put costs for clean-up or demolition costs directly on the property owners’ taxes. “That’ll get their attention, because

by Adam Lynch

that bill is going to come out, and if they don’t pay those taxes that property can be sold for taxes,” Johnson said. “We’re very serious about that.” Planning and Development Director Corinne Fox said the city’s hands were largely tied when it came to clean-up and demolition. “What used to happen is the city would put a lien on the property (for cleaning and home demolition), but it was strictly voluntary for the owner to pay it. They could go pay their taxes, but they wouldn’t pay their lien,” Fox told the Jackson Free Press. House Bill 1412, submitted by Rep. Credell Calhoun, D-Jackson, and advocated by Jackson Policy Director and city lobbyist Walter Zinn, changes all that. The bill, which Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law April 1, allows the city to add costs for cleaning or dilapidated building demolition directly to ad valorem taxes. The city sets aside roughly $270,000 in general funds for demolition work, according to Jackson Community Improvement Manager Claude Smith, while Development Assistance Division Manager Leo Stevens said the city has only about $100,000 of its $450,000 fiscal year 2010 Community Development Block Grant funding for house removal. Traditionally, demolition and clean-up work is a net loss LAW, see page 9

History Repeats

OUT-

NUMBER

“Few of their children in the country learn English ... Unless the stream of their importation could be turned they will soon so outnumber us that all the advantages we have will not be able to preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious.” —Benjamin Franklin, on German immigration to Pennsylvania, 1750s

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Sunday, Sept. 19 BP announces that it has permanently sealed the Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico some two and a half miles beneath the sea floor. The well gushed approximately 206 million gallons of crude into the Gulf from April through July, the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

With the exception of Native Americans, United States citizens all hail from immigrants, whether voluntary or forced, as in the case of African Americans. Nonetheless, Americans have a long unbroken history of antiimmigration xenophobia that stretches from before the American Revolution to 2010.

ADAM LYNCH

Wednesday, Sept. 15 More than 200 people march and rally in downtown Jackson to support the release of the Scott sisters, who received life sentences for armed robbery in 1993.

Attorney General Jim Hood will appeal an overturned death sentence. p 13

This cartoon appeared in The Chicago Tribune in 1919 at the height of the first red scare (1917 to 1921) in the United States. The immigrant portrayed as a ticking time bomb was not Latino, but a European anarchist/communist infiltrating the U.S. in the wake of the Russian revolution of 1917.

news, culture & irreverence

Homeless Connect Week Begins

for the city because it does not recoup its clean-up and demolition costs from negligent property owners until the owners sell their property. Until the date of the sale, however, the owner could simply ignore a growing pile of new liens the city placed upon the property for repeated cleaning or one-time demolition work. Smith said the law is still young, but he is already seeing an increase in the number of people who are coming forward to reimburse the city for cleaning and dilapidated house removal. “It’s only been in effect since July 1, but we do see a lot more people coming in and actually paying their bill for when we have to clean it up. And we have some demolition cases where the property owner comes in and pays the full amount for demolition,” Smith told the Jackson Free Press. The new law also states that all assessments levied shall “become delinquent at the same time municipal ad valorem taxes become delinquent.” Those delinquencies make a difference, especially when the property owner is the type who rarely returns calls. The law states that delinquencies “shall be collected in the same manner and at the same time delinquent ad valorem taxes are collected, and they carry the same penalties as those provided for delinquent taxes.” The new set-up makes it slightly easier

for neglected property to come under city ownership or for the city to put the property up for sale if the owner decides they no longer want to contend with the growing cost of liens and refuse to pay taxes. Stevens said the change would likely “jolt” neglectful property owners, and liven up city revenues. “It’ll get their attention when they learn they can’t let it ride on the books until they sell their property. People knew they could put (a lien) on there and pay it when they sell their property, and basically (they) got a free ride on the city’s dime, but come January or February, when taxes are due, they’ll have to ante up, I guess,” Stevens said. “It’ll be a welcome addition.” Jackson Zoological Park Director Beth Poff said the city had already “stepped up its efforts in the last year” regarding demolition and property cleaning, but said she expected to see a bigger change in the Capitol Street corridor over the next few years, driven in part by HB 1412. “The perception of not having this area cleaned impacts zoo attendance, first and foremost, and I think by us all working together to identify those areas and making sure that they follow the code and the law, and the city having the opportunity to collect more funds against people’s property … obviously is wonderful,” Poff said.

File Photo

LAW, from page 8

The city’s fourth annual Project Homeless Connect Week is Sept. 20- 24.

D

uring the fourth annual Project Homeless Connect Week, Jacksonians have the opportunity to address the issue of homelessness on several fronts. Hosted by the city of Jackson and Partners to End Homelessness, the events are designed to educate, empower and connect those affected by homelessness in the Jackson metro. Project Homeless Connect Week runs Sept. 20-24 and includes a photography exhibit, “That’s Not All There Is: Snapshots and Stories of the Homeless” at Eudora Welty Library (300 N. State St.), The Mixin’ It Up concert Sept. 23, featuring homeless and for-

by Brooke Kelly

mer homeless musicians at Smith Park from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and the Conference on Homelessness Sept. 24 at Galloway United Methodist Church (305 N. Congress St.) from 8 a.m.4 p.m. The conference will address case management, the correlation between homelessness and domestic violence, tactics that criminalize the homeless, ending homeless through permanent supportive housing and assisting homeless ex-offenders. On Tuesday, homeless residents received services such as such as haircuts, food stamp-application assistance, foot massages and employment information during the One Stop Service Fair at Smith Park. During the fair, Yolanda Kirkland, child counselor at Stewpot Community Services, said efforts need to focus on finding housing for the homeless population. “We need a place for homeless to live,” she said. “I see people making a strong effort, but I don’t see people in legislation. … There needs to be a connection.” For more information about Project Homeless Connect Week, call Heather Ivery at 601-960-2178.

The staff of the Jackson Free Press would like to congratulate our editorial team for winning four Green Eyeshade Awards presented by the Society for Professional Journalists Ronni Mott 1st Place, Non-Deadline Reporting (Non-Daily) Preventing Violence Against Women Donna Ladd 1st Place, Serious Commentary (Non-Daily) Melton Essays Donna Ladd, Ward Schaefer and Adam Lynch 1st Place, Courts and the Law Reporting (All Print) The Curious Case of Frank Melton Adam Lynch, Donna Ladd, Todd Stauffer and Ward Schaefer 2nd Place, Public Service in Non-Daily Reporting Two Lakes Coverage jacksonfreepress.com

talk

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citytalk

by Adam Lynch

courtesy cmpdd

Changing the Face of Highway 80

The Central Mississippi Planning and Development District and the city of Jackson proposed multiple projects along the Highway 80 corridor last week, including Showtown West, above, which could change the face of the entire corridor.

I

September 22 - 28, 2010

n 10 years, the Highway 80 corridor will look nothing like it does today if the city of Jackson has its way. Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., unveiled the city’s comprehensive plan for the Highway 80 corridor last Thursday. He joined the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District in proposing a series of development projects, including industrial parks, residential areas, parks and bike trails along the Highway 80 corridor between Terry Road and the Metrocenter Mall. “Highway 80 is going to be our shining star,” Johnson told a crowd of about 70 at the Battlefield Park Community Center in Jackson. “It’s going to be something that we can all be proud of, whether you have a business or a residence there. A few years from now when you look back on this meeting, and you can say, ‘I was there when they unveiled the future,’ or you can say, ‘I didn’t like the way it was going and had a voice in making it better.’” CMPDD, which is working with the city in developing the area, revealed a host

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of development proposals touching on every mile of the corridor between Terry Road and the city’s corporate limits bordering the city of Clinton. District representatives showed audience members jazzed-up renditions of future developments such as Showtown West Neighborhood, a section of Highway 80 between Westhaven Road and Morson Road that once contained the long-gone 1950s-era “Showtown West” drive-in theater. CMPDD suggests that the largely undeveloped section could contain a shopping area and a scenic park with multi-use trails and a lake. The city of Jackson also suggested development possibilities for territory near Puckett Machinery. The city says the section could serve as an auto park or equipment sales destination, coupled perhaps with an office park on the west side of Highland Drive. The area could also conceivably feature an access point behind the Saks Operations Center, near the Interstate 20/Highway 80 intersection.

CMPDD also introduced a name for a residential component of the proposed Metrocenter Mall development, which developer David Watkins is spearheading with the city of Jackson. Watkins is trying to coax Jackson Public Schools to move its administrative offices into the secondfloor section of a vacant anchor store inside the largely underutilized Metrocenter mall, which he says will trigger an influx of new spending in the area that could eventually pave the way to an invigorated mall and surrounding businesses. Watkins hopes to attach a new multi-screen movie theater to the mall, and build an indoor water slide. The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees is currently debating the prospect of the move, which will most likely generate new sales tax revenue and increase the district’s coffers, but it will also cost the district $1 million a year over the next 20 years in renovation and leasing costs under Watkins’ proposed lease-to-own plan. Watkins, a former JPS board attorney, argues that the $20 million cost will still be less than the district’s cost for upkeep of its current buildings. The city plans to build upon the growth of the mall, and has already purchased mall property. However, the city also wants to see a new lifestyle shopping center directly adjacent the revamped mall. The development, Metrocenter South, will provide an openair shopping center similar to the Dogwood development in Flowood. City development leaders, such as Jackson Planning and Development Director Corinne Fox, say they have high hopes for the area, thanks to its easy access to area interstates, including 220, 20, and 55. Fox points out that much of the infrastructure for the development already exists, particularly regarding the proposed Metrocenter and Southport Mall Entertainment Center at the site of the abandoned Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality headquarters at the corner of Highway 80 and Ellis Avenue.

“This location is one of the most convenient locations in the state,” Fox told the Jackson Free Press. “From here, you can go just about anywhere in the country.” Fox added that the potential for development at the Southport Mall location was particularly high, considering the location is already consolidated under one ownership group. CMPPD suggested a development plan for Southport consisting of entertainment venues for college students connected with nearby Jackson State University. The area could also boast a park connected to the Champion Community Center and a multi-use trail (called the Little J), which would evolve from an unused railroad track vanishing into undeveloped green space and nearby neighborhoods. Mark Fields, co-owner of the proposed site of the Southport Mall Entertainment Center, said he and his partner are eager to aid in development. “We’re ready to move on this,” Fields told the JFP. “We’re a new owner of that mall, and we’ve not had time to sit down and assess what we’d like to do with it. But if somebody has some ideas for the area we’re certainly not going to stand in the way. We’ll either work with them or sell our interest in it.” Johnson told the crowd that the city is already investing in a new JATRAN bus facility on the corner of Valley Street and Highway 80, and is working to expand and widen other streets in the area, including the Lynch Street extension stretching behind Puckett Machinery, all the way to the Interstate 20 intersection. Johnson said he also wanted to see developers adopt the unused Coca-Cola bottling facility, along Highway 80, which he said would make a great multi-use or office suite facility. “Already, people are thinking about trying to get this project moving, and the city is already doing its part to make sure this project hits the ground running,” Johnson said. Get breaking development news at jfpdaily.com.

educationtalk

by Ward Schaefer

Rep. Cecil Brown agreed with Gov. Haley Barbour’s plan to save education funds for next year, but the governor seems to be reneging on part of the agreement.

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ississippi leaders experienced a rare moment of agreement last month on the frequently rancorous topic of education funding. While negotiations over the state education budget often follows well-worn plotlines—the Republican-leaning Senate and Gov. Haley Barbour want to give less, the majority-Democrat House wants to give more—this time, both sides consented to squirreling away $125 million in newly arrived federal money in the state’s rainy-day fund. It was a happy consensus borne of being temporarily flush yet imminently poor: The state got more money than expected, but the 2012 fiscal year looks to be a doozy. The influx of federal funds came in two parts, from a single bill the U.S. Congress passed Aug. 9. One part, the $125 million in question, took the form of a higher-thannormal federal Medicaid match. State legislators anticipated receiving this money earlier. They suspended their session in March when it appeared that Congress was ready to pass it, and then, when Congress couldn’t get its act together, passed a contingency budget in May that allotted an extra $82 million to education if the enhanced Medicaid match ever materialized. It did, on Aug. 9, but while state lawmakers had expected $187 million, they received only $125 million. That disappointment was countered, by another chunk of change that the Legislature had not banked on: $98 million in direct aid to school districts to forestall teacher layoffs. Meeting before the Aug. 27 special legislative session, House and Senate leaders agreed to reserve the $125 million, as schools would be getting more than the $82 million originally allotted for them in the contingency budget. Not everyone was happy with this plan. Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, conceded that the additional $98 million necessitated some changes to the original contingency budget, but he took issue with saving so much more than originally intended. Bryan also objected to the secrecy surrounding the negotiations. “The governor basically doesn’t believe that the government does anything and doesn’t see why we have one,” Bryan told the Jackson

Free Press. “I know where he’s coming from. I cannot fathom what has gotten into the House and why they’re going along with us.” On Aug. 19, and again Sept. 15, Barbour sent letters to superintendents urging them to reserve the $98 million for the 2012 fiscal year. The 2012 state education budget will already have to account for the loss of $278 million from the federal economic stimulus package that it enjoyed in 2011, he argued. “Given that you have already finalized your school year budgets, contracts are in place and you have identified funding sources to fund the executed budgets, please save those unexpected funds for the extremely difficult budget year in FY 2012,” he wrote Aug. 19. Education advocates worry, though, that Barbour’s doom-and-gloom pleadings may have a subtext. If school districts push the entire $98 million forward, then Barbour could demand that legislators allocate $98 million less in state money for the 2012 K-12 education budget than they would otherwise. It’s a fear with some justification: In statements about the education budget, the governor has repeatedly claimed that school districts have hundreds of millions in rainy-day funds, when the vast majority of those funds are actually seasonal dollars that help the districts weather the irregular funding streams of local property-tax collections. Most school districts do not carry significant amounts in their rainyday funds beyond a school year, but that has not stopped Barbour from using those funds as proof that schools can endure more cuts. “I’m a bit concerned … that the governor may push for a lesser appropriation for K-12 for (2012), because he has told school districts to move those dollars forward,” said Parents Campaign Executive Director Nancy Loome. “If that happens, then schools would see no net effect at all from any of these dollars.” School districts have ultimate discretion over how they spend the $98 million, though, so Barbour can only resort to pleading. The Legislature is holding budget hearings for state agencies this week, and Mississippi Department of Education officials will almost certainly submit a quixotic argument for full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the state’s main avenue for providing “adequate” funding to low-income school districts. While MAEP hasn’t received close to full funding since 2008, Loome hopes to put additional pressure on legislators this year to give K-12 education its due. For the last two fiscal years, the percentage of the state budget dedicated to K-12 education has dropped, she says. Despite the added stimulus dollars, legislators have cut education at a faster rate than other budget areas. “The idea that the Legislature has done all that it can to protect K-12—that’s really not accurate,” Loome said. “If something is really your priority, you don’t cut it more than you cut the rest of the budget, percentage-wise. I think that there are probably many legislators who are not aware that that is the case.”

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justicetalk

by Valerie Wells

Valerie Wells

‘Ain’t Got Justice, Yet’

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Bobby Ray Dixon (center) celebrates his release from prison after serving a 30-year prison sentence for a 1979 crime he did not commit.

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t was tragic when a man raped and killed Eva Gail Patterson in 1979 in Forrest County, says Emily Maw of Innocence Project New Orleans. It was tragic when Patterson’s 4-year-old son watched him do it and later told police again and again what he saw. It was tragic that the same man would rape another woman two years later. It was horrific, Maw says, that the real perpetrator let three innocent men sit in jail for three decades for his crime. “We can’t make it right,” Maw told Forrest County Circuit Judge Bob Helfrich Sept. 16. She and co-counsel Rob McDuff asked him to put the injustice to an end now that new DNA evidence proves these three men didn’t commit the crime. Larry Ruffin died in 2002 serving out his sentence. Bobby Ray Dixon, 53, left prison last month in an ambulance. He has lung cancer, and it has spread to his brain. Phillip Bivens, 59, was still serving his life sentence. Helfrich set aside the guilty pleas of Dixon and Bivens and ordered they be released on their own recognizance until a grand jury gets a chance to review the new evidence. “We have the best justice system in the world,” Helfrich said right before giving his decision. “We’d rather see a guilty person go free than an innocent man convicted.”

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Forrest County District Attorney Jon Mark Weathers said when Maw and McDuff came to his office last month to request the DNA testing, they all decided this case “would not be resolved in a back room.” Many of the files related to the case are missing, Weathers said, adding that if the new DNA evidence had been available during the 1980 trial, it is likely that a jury would not have found either Dixon or Bivens guilty. “It’s hard to determine what happened 30 years ago,” said McDuff, co-counsel for Dixon and Bivens. All three—Ruffin, Dixon and Bivens— confessed to the crime. Their lawyers say this was partly because the men were threatened with the death penalty. Their stories didn’t match up and weren’t accurate. They would later recant their confessions, and Bivens and Dixon agreed to testify against Ruffin in exchange for life sentences. Before the hearing started, Dixon, who wore a crisp blue shirt, walked into the courtroom slowly, making his way with a wooden cane. A family member held his arm to support him. He looked a lot older than his 53 years. After the hearing, he made his way through a crowd of hugs and well wishers before reporters caught up with him at the door. By his side was his twin sister, Bobby Mae Myers. He told everyone he was happy.

“He wasn’t eating. Now he’s eating good. He couldn’t walk, either,” said Earlean Coates, 77, Dixon’s aunt who raised him. “It’s just a blessing,” “We are going to start a new chapter in life,” said Willie Dixon, 46, the younger brother. Dixon spoke quietly, almost in whispers, to reporters. Bivens, still wearing his red jumpsuit and waiting to be out-processed, also spoke so softly that reporters had to lean in to hear him. “I didn’t know him,” Bivens said of Ruffin. “I hadn’t met Larry until they put me in jail.” “We are very happy,” Maw said after the hearing concluded. “We challenged everyone’s assumptions.” Work remains in the case. The grand jury will have to consider the new DNA evidence that identifies Patterson’s real rapist and killer as Andrew Harris, currently serving a life sentence for another rape in 1981. The district attorney’s office has already started the investigation. Helfrich has assigned Weathers as special prosecutor in the case. Weathers and defense attorneys agreed that if this same DNA evidence had been available at the 1980 trial, none of the three men would have gone to prison. The defense lawyers also filed a motion for the exoneration of Larry Ruffin to formally clear his name. Helfrich chose not to make a decision on clearing Ruffin’s name at the Sept. 16 hearing. After the grand jury meets will be the correct time for him to rule, he said. Members of the Ruffin family wore gray T-shirts saying: “Ruffin—Free at Last.” “We know he’s free,” said Jerry Ruffin, the dead man’s younger brother. He said he wasn’t disappointed in the judge’s decision to wait on clearing Ruffin’s name and was confident it would come soon. “We ain’t got justice, yet,” he said. The Ruffin family headed to his gravesite for a reunion following the hearing. Comment at jacksonfreepress.com.

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by Ward Schaefer

“huge measure of grace” that Hodges had supposedly already received as reason for sentencing him to death. Mills found, however, that Kitchens’ testimony was false: Tatum did not tell Kitchens that she wanted leniency for Hodges. In fact, a victim statement she gave to him stated that she was afraid of Hodges and wanted him out of her life. Moreover, Mills found that Kitchens testified falsely—both in Hodges’ murder trial and in Mills’ own court—that the state was seeking a 15-year sentence in the 1998 burglary case. The court transcript of the 1998 plea hearing shows that the DA’s office made no sentencing recommendation, Mills notes. “In this instance, the (s)tate, seemingly unconcerned with the accuracy of the testimony to be given in a trial where the result could be death, provided the jury with false information,” Mills wrote. “That information was elicited to show that (Hodges) is a remorseless liar who was shown kindness that he refused to acknowledge and which he repaid by murdering the son of the woman who extended it. In light of these facts, this Court concludes that there exists a reasonable probability that this testimony affected the jury’s judgment.” In a Sept. 16 letter to the editor of The Columbus Dispatch, Allgood defended him-

Attorney General Jim Hood (left) plans to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that overturns a 2001 death sentence.

self and Kitchens. “(N)owhere in Judge Mills’ opinion does it say that anyone ‘lied,’” Allgood wrote. “That’s because no one did. … There is a great difference between giving false testimony and lying under oath. I may genuinely believe what I remember to be true, raise my right hand, swear to tell the truth, and testify ‘falsely.’” Allgood went on to claim that Kitchens’ testimony was based on off-the-record conversations in the 1998 burglary case that were not included in the court transcript. Attorney General Jim Hood confirmed Sept. 15 to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that his office will appeal Mills’ ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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was involuntarily committed to the East Mississippi State Hospital. After his commitment, he left the state and stopped practicing law. Miller acknowledged in post-conviction proceedings that he did not meaningfully prepare for Hodges’ case. He did not present any evidence to persuade the jury to give Hodges a more lenient sentence and even suggested to them that prison sentence would be worse for Hodges than the death penalty. Mills also found that James Thomas Kitchens Jr., then an assistant district attorney in Lowndes County, gave false testimony during the sentencing hearing. Kitchens, now a circuit court judge (no relation to Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens), testified about a previous burglary conviction on Hodges’ record. Hodges pleaded guilty to burglary in 1998 for breaking into the home of Johnson’s mother, Bessie Tatum, and hiding underneath the bed of her daughter, Cora Johnson, his girlfriend at the time. Hodges served six months of a seven-year sentence in a rehabilitation program and was released in June 1999. During the capital sentencing hearing and in post-conviction proceedings, Kitchens, who handled the 1998 plea hearing, testified that Tatum had asked him to request leniency for Hodges. In closing arguments, Lowndes County DA Forrest Allgood harped on the

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he case of Quintez Hodges is a rare one. Efforts by the Innocence Project and others have vacated death sentences and exonerated an increasing number of wrongfully convicted men, but Hodges was not wrongfully convicted, at least according to the federal judge who overturned his death sentence Sept. 13. Instead, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mills ruled that Hodges’ sentencing hearing for the 1999 murder of Isaac Johnson, his ex-girlfriend’s brother, was unfairly prejudiced against him. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Mills found that a sitting circuit court judge contributed to Hodges’ death sentence with false testimony that he gave while still an assistant district attorney. A Lowndes County jury convicted Hodges in September 2001 for murdering Johnson and, in a separate sentencing hearing, sentenced him to death. Hodges’ lawyer during the trial and sentencing hearing, Michael D. Miller, was a recent law school graduate who had never before tried a case in circuit court, much less a death-penalty case. Medical records show Miller had a history of drug abuse and suffered from bipolar disorder. His trial notes include comments such as: “This is far too much. I want to go home.” In 2003, after the Hodges trial, Miller

Kate Medley

Overturned Sentence Spotlights Judge, DA

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jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

No More Innocents Punished

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he news was almost unsurprising: Last week, DNA evidence exonerated three more Mississippi men—one of whom died in 2002—imprisoned for three decades for a rape and murder none of them committed. With Forrest County Circuit Judge Bob Helfrich’s Sept. 17 ruling that overturned their convictions, Bobby Ray Dixon and Phillip Bivens joined the growing list of Mississippians wrongfully convicted and cleared by DNA evidence: Cedric Willis, Kennedy Brewer, Levon Brooks, Arthur Johnson. Along with another man, Larry Ruffin, Bivens and Dixon were serving life sentences for the 1979 rape and murder of Eva Patterson. Decades after the crime, DNA testing ordered by Innocence Project attorneys cleared all of the men, including Ruffin, of any guilt in Patterson’s murder. The tests show that another man, Andrew Harris, is the actual culprit. Harris is currently serving a life sentence for another 1981 rape. The proof of his innocence in the case comes eight years too late for Ruffin, who died in prison in 2002. Unlike many of the people defended by the Innocence Project, Ruffin, Bivens and Dixon weren’t on death row. They “merely” received life sentences. But their exonerations cast a bright light on the fallibility of the criminal justice system. Too often, the system puts securing a conviction above the search for actual justice. Ruffin initially confessed to murdering Patterson, according to court records, but later reversed himself, saying that prosecutors had used physical force to coerce a confession. Bivens pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. Dixon also took a plea bargain, entering a guilty plea and testifying against Ruffin. Innocence Project data show that of the 259 people nationwide exonerated by DNA evidence, 63 made false confessions and 19 pleaded guilty. Studies have shown that overzealous police interrogators can unwittingly divulge information that panicked or desperate suspects then incorporate into a convincing, albeit false, confession. And for someone convinced they will not get true justice, alive and in prison is a more attractive option than death by lethal injection. The data also shows that mistaken eye-witness testimony, use of improper or outdated forensic science, police informants angling for favors and plain vanilla piss-poor lawyering add to the nation’s burgeoning prison population, including those who are not guilty of the crimes for which they are serving time. Facts like these necessarily raise doubts about the reliability of the methods prosecutors use in the courts to secure a guilty plea. Mississippi already has its share of innocent blood on its collective hands. It’s time to declare a moratorium on capital punishment.

KEN STIGGERS

Decoding the Code

September 22 - 28, 2010

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oneqweesha Jones: “Welcome to the early morning edition of ‘Good Morning Ghetto’. My guest is Brother Hustle, Ghetto Science Team senior business and economics consultant. He’s here to talk about his upcoming financial empowerment seminar titled ‘Compensatory Investment Request: Stay out of Jail and Acquire Capital.’ “Brother Hustle, are you talking in code?” Brother Hustle: “Yes, ‘Qweesha, I’m speaking in code. And I want to share this code with residents of the Ghetto Science Community regarding how to acquire capital and avoid imprisonment through a method called CIR, or compensatory investment request.” Boneqweesha Jones: “You’ve got to decode your code, Brother Hustle.” Brother Hustle: “I’m saying that the unemployed, financially challenged worker can get capital through begging, aka compensatory investment requests. Begging to acquire capital is a common practice in this capitalistic society. In the 1980s, a CEO named Lee Iacocca made a compensatory investment request to the government for Chrysler Corporation. After he got the capital, his Chrysler Corporation made a six-passenger, front-wheel-drive hoopty called the ‘K-Car.’ “When I couldn’t find a job, I decided to establish myself as a street vendor and entrepreneur by making several compensatory investment requests. The capital from my ‘begging’ helped finance my Juicy Juice on Ice Refreshment Stands and Mobile Bill-Payment Service. Bonqweesha Jones: “Like the good book says, ‘Ask and it shall be given.’ Now I understand the code.”

‘He Will Be Missed’: Herman Snell, 1969-2010 by Donna Ladd

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first met Herman Snell in the Oyster Bar at Hal & Mal’s back in 2002 at one of our early Lounges. We were considering the foolish idea of starting a newspaper in Jackson, and either he or one of his friends mentioned that Herman should do events listings for us because he already does them anyway on his personal website. The job of compiling events and music listings is a tedious, often thankless task, and it doesn’t always bring the respect it deserves. It is hard to pay someone to do it well and care about it, much less to get them to do it for free on their own time just because they care so much about their city and its arts and music scene. I started talking to Herman about it, and it quickly became clear that he was another of the remarkable people we were meeting in Jackson who believed in the city’s potential. He was stepping up and doing his part. Herman volunteered to help us get the Jackson Free Press off the ground. He was our first music editor, started his long-running Herman’s Picks column and did the weekly music listings (and for a while, the events listings). And both then, when he did it for free, and after we started paying him a pittance, he never missed a deadline. He cared enough about the local music scene to carry through on his promises. Yes, he got busy over the years with his son, his “real” job, his work with Crossroads Film Festival, and he had to cut back on the music editing part, but he has long been the face of our steady music calendars and bi-weekly Herman’s Picks, known for quirky descriptions like “eclectic Gypsy-punk, country-boogie band Dirtfoot,” which he wrote in his last column. We also appreciated Herman because he believed in all music. He would not bow to those who wanted him to “pick” just a certain flavor constantly, and he always made a point of including high-brow options, including his beloved ancient-music performances. The city’s knowledge of a variety of music is better for him having been here. Herman started e-mailing us weeks ago to warn

us that he would be out of commission for about a week because of his surgery. In true Herman Snell Herman fashion, he made 1969-2010 sure we were equipped to do it ourselves in his absence. He kept us on task. I saw the last e-mail he would ever send us Monday morning, minutes after finding out that he died Sunday night from a blood clot in his lung. He’d written it at 9 a.m. Sunday after coming home after his gastric bypass surgery. “I’m back on my computer updating. Picks will be in on Wed, on schedule. It’ll be another few days before I’m driving. Thanks guys,” he wrote. In another 12 hours, at 9:30 p.m., he was gone. We are in shock, as are many people he worked with and befriended throughout the state. “Everywhere he went, he made friends,” his sister Lynn Snell told us this morning. “He knew everybody. He never met a stranger. He will be missed.” Jackson’s arts community will miss Herman as well. “Herman was extremely passionate about music, film and art,” said his good friend Nina Parikh, deputy director of the Mississippi Film Office who worked with him on the Crossroads Film Festival, which he directed from 2004 to 2009. “He involved himself in every aspect. There will certainly be a hole in the Crossroads community without his presence. We are eternally grateful for having him in our world for such a long time.” Herman, a Jackson native and Free Mason, was also a dedicated father to his son, Loden. He was an Eagle Scout, writer, poet and kinetic abstract painter (just Google him). He was a big-ideas guy who packed so much thought into his 40 years: Dada, the avant garde, Oulipo, surrealism, Zen, Tao, Sufism. Rest in peace, friend. Thank you for everything. Snell’s funeral is Thursday, Sept. 23, at 11 a.m. at Baldwin Lee Funeral Home in Pearl. A visitation for family and friends is, Sept. 22, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Scott Dennis

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Our National Family

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Jackson Free Press P.O. Box 5067, Jackson, Miss., 39296 Editorial (601) 362-6121 Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com The Jackson Free Press is the city’s award-winning, locally owned newsweekly, with 17,000 copies distributed in and around the Jackson metropolitan area every Thursday. The Jackson Free Press is free for pick-up by readers; one copy per person, please. First-class subscriptions are available for $100 per year for postage and handling. The Jackson Free Press welcomes thoughtful opinions. The views expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc. Š Copyright 2010 Jackson Free Press Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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ceived social diplomacy of our entire country, much the way that one small church threatening to burn copies of a religious book can undermine the international regard of our entire national family. Even as a conservative (albeit, a moderate and reasonable conservative), I can still appreciate and celebrate the historical significance of our first black president and our first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. It truly is a remarkable ascent in both cases. Such events inspire whole new groups of people, and they reflect the diversity of our national family. I once found myself in an emergency room in Miami, Fla. I was alone—no family or close friends to look out for or comfort me. English was a second language to everyone I came in contact with. I know this because everyone, from the parking lot security guard to all the nurses and doctors I encountered, spoke Spanish first. Once they realized that I didn’t understand, they reverted to perfect and proper English. I remember realizing that I was the one who was different in that particular community; I was the minority, and I was helpless and totally at the mercy of my brothers and sisters of other lineage. They were all professional caregivers, and I credit them for my life and well being today. America is the cultural melting pot of the world, but sometimes we are hesitant to accept those who look differently, speak differently or worship differently than we do. I suspect Native Americans could think the same of our ancestors. Can so many diverse cultures coexist as a national family? I am a person of faith, and I am hopeful that we will. Some of us who are born into our national family may fail to comprehend the dedication and patience required to become a citizen. My advice is to attend a swearing-in ceremony just once and witness the joy and celebration of those who just want to be part of our family. My hope is that our national family will learn to play well with others and that we will remember that our family tree has a strong system of far-reaching roots that would make local horticulturalist Felder Rushing proud.

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EDITORIAL Managing Editor Ronni Mott News Editor Lacey McLaughlin Associate Editor Natalie A. Collier Senior Reporter Adam Lynch Reporter Ward Schaefer Events Editor Latasha Willis Music Listings Editor Herman Snell, R.I.P. Assistant to the Editor ShaWanda Jacome Writers Quita Bride, Lisa Fontaine Bynum, David Dennis Jr., Scott Dennis, Bryan Flynn, Carl Gibson, Garrad Lee, Lance Lomax, Anita Modak-Truran, Larry Morrisey, Chris Nolen, Robin O’Bryant, Casey Purvis,Tom Ramsey, Doctor S, Ken Stiggers, Jackie Warren Tatum, Valerie Wells, Byron Wilkes Editorial Interns Jesse Crow, Julia Hulitt, Holly Perkins, Briana Robinson Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

mong the 42 brand-new and very proud American citizens at the swearing-in ceremony in Vicksburg National Military Park, Friday, Sept. 17, was one special lady of Argentine descent who I am honored to know as my sister-in-law. She has been a member of our family for six years, and I am pleased to now welcome her to our bigger, national family. Earlier this year, another close friend of mine joined our national family. He is of Indian descent, and we worked together for several years. He wasn’t a federal employee as I am, because he was not yet a citizen when he lived here in Jackson, but he worked for our office through cooperation with a university. He is possibly the most genuine, most kind-hearted and dedicated person that I’ve ever befriended, and I celebrate the fact that he is now also my national brother. This national family I’m referring to is all of us Americans. All families have a family tree, and our national family tree has roots reaching from many different countries. Indeed, with the exception of Native Americans, we all can trace our roots back to some foreign land. Back when I was a college student, I worked through the summer and Christmas holidays at a poultry plant in Scott County. I came to know many immigrants of both documented and non-documented status. My personal experience with my non-documented co-workers at that time was that they were hard workers, cheerfully accepting any job available, and did that job to the best of their ability. Their work ethic and performance were excellent, as their livelihood depended on it. Legal inconsistencies from one state to another cause issues that arise with undocumented immigrants. One example of an inconsistency among the states is the ability to obtain a driver’s license. While a driver’s license is a state-issued identification, its importance as the modern de-facto universal method of photo identification has far reaching consequences. It would make sense to me to have national consistency when dealing with issues of our national family. One state, going it alone in their attempt to discriminate against a group of people, can deteriorate the per-

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Editor in Chief Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer

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Adam Lynch

On the Anchor Baby Trail The Truth About Immigration in Mississippi

Like Venus Rocheli (above), more than half of Latinos living in Mississippi are native-born, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

by Adam Lynch

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September 22 - 28, 2010

lises Hernandez Rincon, 21, listened furtively to the cries of outrage and angry applause from people in the community center’s bleachers, his eyes darting around the room like two dragonflies trying to settle on a lily pad. Rincon, whose parents are Mexican, was born in the United States and is just as much as citizen as any of the U.S.-born speakers railing against immigrants on the stage. “Our nation is in peril, and you have decided to stand up on behalf of our nation,” conservative African American radio host Kim Wade told a crowd of about 200 white faces filling the Madison Community Center on a hot July night. Political candidate Bill Marcy, also black, told the crowd that its opposition to illegal immigration is akin to defending your home against a burglar. “My grandfather told me something: He said, ‘Bill, as a southerner, when somebody comes to your front door you are required by southern tradition to welcome them in and offer them a drink,’” said Marcy, who is running against congressional Democratic titan U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson in the upcoming Second Congressional District election. Marcy seemed to be trying to embrace a down-homey kind of vibe as he slammed immigrants. “But Granddaddy also said that if someone sneaks through your back window in the middle of the night when you are asleep, then that person is going to have to talk to your dog and your gun.” “This is what we’re talking about,” Mar16 cy declared after the cheering eventually died

down. “Thirteen million people have sneaked through the back window, and now they’re starting to come into your living room and telling you that they actually own the house.” Rincon and Marcy and Wade actually grew up in the same culture. They probably laugh at the same television shows. They might all cringe at Cialis commercials. In fact, the only distinction could be Rincon’s slightly larger bilingual vocabulary and the fact that Marcy’s and Wade’s mothers were U.S. citizens impregnated by two other U.S. citizens. But that’s all the difference the folks on stage need, by the sound of it. To many in this crowd, Rincon is an anchor baby, supposedly intentionally born here so that he can deviously forge his 39-year-old Mexican mother’s path to U.S. citizenship. Living In Fear Rincon feared signing his real name to the attendance clipboard at the Madison tea party gathering, saying he was unsure if any one of the members would do something nasty to him at a later time. He may have had a point. Anchor babies, such as himself, are the current brunt of increasingly vicious rhetoric. A July 13 Clarion-Ledger article cited Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant claiming that immigrant children are a drain on Mississippi hospitals: “You have some that have babies—anchor babies—and don’t pay for it,” Bryant said. The young man, who is an organizer for the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, laughs bitterly when asked about his mystical anchor-baby power to grant citizenship. “It’s easier for my mother to try to get permanent residence through victim status

than for me to petition on her behalf,” he said. At the Madison forum, Bryant targeted the organization for which Rincon works, the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. “Well, they broke a federal law. Who is going to enforce that? If I am conspiring or encouraging or counseling illegal aliens to continue working in the U.S. or assisting them in completing their application, I’m committing a federal violation.” Not exactly. Rincon said federal law does spell out that it is a federal violation for anyone who “encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be a violation of law ...” The expected candidate for governor leaves out, however, that federal law established the process MIRA uses to help non-citizens achieve citizenship and that—so far—a noncitizen has no supplemental process through which to achieve citizenship. The federal government is still the only way to go, and MIRA must use it. Drug War Victims U.S. authorities deported Rincon’s father back to San Francisco, Michoacán, Mexico two years ago, ending the man’s profitable construction career in the U.S. and returning him to an area dominated by drug cartels. Rincon’s father’s well-being isn’t top of mind for the Madison crowd, however; they are focused on keeping immigrants out and adopting laws that would actually require documented immigrants, and even U.S. citizens such as Rincon, to prove their citizenship.

At the Madison gathering, Brookhaven Rep. Becky Currie vowed to submit to the state Legislature a bill mirroring the controversial bill Arizona legislators passed requiring law enforcement officials to check drivers’ or residential documents. The federal government has already challenged the Arizona law, on the grounds that it is the federal government’s job to enforce immigration issues, while other opponents argue that the Arizona law gives police the ability to pull people over—including U.S. citizens—based upon physical appearance. If passed during the next legislative session, a mimic of the Arizona law would not be the first stab at the cold heart of unregulated immigration in Mississippi. In 2008, the state Legislature passed the Mississippi Employment Protection Act, which requires employers operating in the Magnolia state to “hire only employees who are legal citizens of the United States of America or are legal aliens.” That law, which proponents describe as a hard ruler rap on the knuckles of unscrupulous employers, is a hard boot to the testicles of undocumented immigrants. Any employer violating the law runs the risk of getting state or public contracts canceled for up to three years. Employers also risks losing any license, permit or certification granted by any state agency, department or government entity for a year. If a worker gets nabbed in the same bust that cost his employer his state contract, he or she gets a felony charge that, upon conviction, can lead to up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000 as well as an alert to ICE, which could end with deportation.

“Illegal” People? People often misuse the term “illegal” when it comes to the immigration debate. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists defines the use of the word “illegal” and “illegal aliens” as a means to describe undocumented immigrants as “grammatically incorrect and crosses the line by criminalizing the person, not the action they are purported to have committed. “Under current U.S. immigration law, being an undocumented immigrant is not a crime, it is a civil violation. Furthermore, an estimated 40 percent of all undocumented people living in the U.S. are visa over-stayers, meaning they did not illegally cross the U.S. border,” NAHJ wrote in a September statement.

nomic opportunities for illegal immigrants.” If only the country’s economic hardship could be solved with a massive deportation. Nothing’s that simple, though, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The California economy is likely to be one of the first to feel whatever pain it has coming to it from the inflow of a new population, and the Federal Reserve Bank could conceivably develop a cautious attitude toward the new inhabitants, both documented and undocumented. But the organization’s conclusion is somewhat surprising. “Statistical analysis of state-level data shows that immigrants expand the economy’s productive capacity by stimulating investment and promoting specialization,” wrote FRBSF visiting scholar Giovanni Peri in August. “This produces efficiency gains and boosts income per worker. At the same time, evidence is scant that immigrants diminish the employment opportunities of U.S.-born workers.” The report studies the effects of immigration on the “total output and income of the U.S. economy by comparing per worker output and employment in states with large immigrant populations” against data from states that have an inflow of relatively few foreignborn workers. Using those statistics, the report finds no evidence that immigrants both documented and undocumented “crowd out U.S.-born workers, either in the short or long run: “Data on U.S.-born worker employment imply small effects, with estimates never statistically different from zero. The impact on hours per worker is similar. We observe insignificant effects in the short run and a small but significant positive effect in the long run.” The report goes on to delineate that the Stealing Jobs? positive long-term ef Nothing comfect on income per mands attention like U.S.-born worker acthe idea of a foreigner crues over time: “Over snatching away your the long run … a net job in a down economy, inflow of immigrants and the talking heads at A supporter of a new antiequal to 1 percent of the Madison get-togeth- discrimination ordinance in Jackson employment increases er beat that drum faster at a City Council hearing. income per worker by than Newt Gingrich 0.6 percent to 0.9 percan find a new wife. cent,” Peri’s report states. Rep. Currie is a comely blonde with a The report also indicates an increase of southern twang thick enough to drive most income per worker as a third long-term bennortherners to grab great grampa’s old Civil efit of heavy immigration, arising “mainly due War Union-issue smoothbore musket and to increases in the efficiency and productivity take aim at the stage. She told the cheering au- of state economies.” This effect becomes more dience flatly that her job is “not to make eco- detectable in the medium to long run as the

gradual response of productivity triggers “a gradual response of capital intensity.” “While in the short run, physical capital per unit of output is decreased by net immigration, in the medium to long run, businesses expand their equipment and physical plant proportionally to their increase in production,” the report says. Immigrants v. Blacks Some immigration opponents, such as Wade, warn other African Americans that immigration can make life worse in the U.S. for them. Wade made an attempt to sever the immigrants’ rights issue from the civil rights issues of the 1960s and 1950s by opining that immigrants compete with African Americans for jobs, leaving blacks with the “short end of the stick.” “When those people race across the border looking for jobs, they ain’t coming to Bully’s Soul Food Shack to get a job,” Wade told the Jackson Free Press in August. “They’re being employed by white people. And after they get their amnesty and their voting privileges they’re going to vote for their people, just like blacks did and whites did and everybody else, and you’ll see the Hispanics siding with the white majority to provide the damn jobs, and blacks will be out looking crazy talking about ‘How come we don’t have any jobs.’ Well, that’s because you gave your damn positions to the Hispanics.” To this bold statement, the unemployment figures valiantly proclaim: “meh.” The 2009 report “Immigration and Native-Born Unemployment Across Racial/Ethnic Groups” is Part 2 in a three-part series produced by the Immigration Policy Center, using unemployment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: “States and metropolitan areas with the highest shares of recent immigrants in the labor force do not necessarily have the highest unemployment rates among nativeborn blacks, whites, Hispanics or Asians,” the report states. Unemployment rates in a particular area among African Americans, or any other major native-born racial/ethnic group, provide no indication of how many recent immigrants work there.” The report concludes that the 10 states with the highest shares of recent immigrants in the labor force enjoy an average unemployment rate of about 4 percentage points less than in the 10 states with the lowest shares of recent immigrants among native-born blacks. Also, consider a comparison between Tracy Chapman’s Cleveland and Ricky Martin’s Miami. Recent immigrants comprise 17 percent of the labor force in Miami, but only

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Hating Castro and Communists Aaron and Adrien Moreno are two adorably obnoxious kids who insisted on chatting to me incessantly about Skittles while I trailed along after Rincon on one of his organizational efforts in Morton last month. Their grandfather, a Cuban immigrant in the U.S. for 10 years who works at a local hatchery, lives in a company-owned mobile home that’s seen much better days. “He says he’d rather die than go back to

Cuba,” Rincon later says of the kids’ grandfather as we’re driving away. I glance backward in the car mirror at the two kids waving at our departure with their battered badminton rackets. “He really hates Castro,” Rincon adds. I then see Grandpa’s broken-down trailer home careening into the mirror’s view as the car pulls out of the gravel driveway and wonder if a mobile home qualifies for “hoopty” status as long as it has wheels. “Yep. He must really, really hate communists,” I say. Despite the organized might of the foodprocessors union, a bag of leg quarters in the state still costs about $5, thanks to immigrant work averaging a fraction over minimum wage. But even at $10 an hour, there appear to be few takers for chicken-processing jobs, at least not for long. Chandler says American-born workers typically endure the industry for a short time before finding something else and moving on. That’s not what a boss looks for, however. They want longevity, and somebody whose temporary visa depends on continued employment is typically willing to stick with the job through miles of chicken guts. Maybe that’s good. If no undocumented workers were available for those kinds of jobs, Borjas said that employers would likely invest in new technology, replacing workers with automation. The professor added that his modest-impact argument even holds true in places like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, three cities where more than one-third of all undocumented workers in the U.S. reside. Borjas said last week that he had not updated his 2006 opinion, and that the impact of immigration upon U.S. jobs remained minimal, according to his research. In any case, Mississippi has a comparatively small Hispanic population. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that the state of Mississippi had only 57,000 Latinos in 2008, with native-born Hispanics like Rincon comprising about 52 percent of that population. Any impact they have upon wages here in minimally Mexican Mississippi stands to be considerably less than the relative bang coming out of New York or Los Angeles. Amile Wilson

‘Some Kind of Enemy’ After an hour and a half of non-stop disparagement from Wade, Bryant and others— cross stereotyping words ultimately aimed at his mother—Rincon left the Madison building in low spirits. “I thought I would come here and learn something from these people,” he said afterward. “I was hoping I could find a way to communicate with them on some level. I thought: ‘We’re the same people. We’re Americans. I just need to find something we can all relate to.’” Rincon shook his head for a moment, his frustrated gaze cutting off into the distance. “I couldn’t find that here. There’s no way into their heads. I don’t think they’re interested in trying to communicate with me. I think they see me as some kind of enemy.” The young man had cause to leave feeling discouraged. There was no voice amid the anger to counter any of the sloppy assessments or to correct untruths, intentional or not. Russ Latino, a tea partier and a white former Jackson resident who fled to the Jackson suburbs, railed that immigrants were anathema to American comfort: “Illegal immigrants drive down wages, because they take the unfair wages that Americans would do if they we being paid a decent wage.” Professor Jorge Borjas, a Robert Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, summed up the issue for NPR during a 2006 Q&A with Reporter Adam Davidson. “The most respected recent studies show that most Americans would notice little difference in their paychecks if illegal immigrants suddenly disappeared from the United States. That’s because most Americans don’t directly compete with illegal immigrants for jobs,” Borjas stated. The professor pointed out that illegal immigrants often take some of the country’s nastiest jobs, like the ones in the meat-packing and agriculture industries. The chicken plants of Mississippi’s Scott County inadvertently began building an immigrant population in the communities of Morton and Forest years ago when they hired contractors to troll Latin America for potential chicken-pluckers. Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance Executive Director Bill Chandler said the companies were in need of stable labor throughout the 1990s to keep the price of chicken products down, and recruited a new league of ununionized workers. It only worked for a while. Chandler’s Union Associates began organizing the new labor force throughout the 2000s, and today the area hosts one of MIRA’s strongest union presences. But that presence has limited power.

ANCHOR BABIES, see page 18

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Chokwe Anton Lumumba speaks in favor of a new pro-immigraton ordinance in August.

3 percent of the labor force in Cleveland. Still, the unemployment rate for native-born African Americans in Cleveland is double that of native-born blacks in Miami, according to the report. Fuzzy Math Not that real numbers have much of an effect on the “anti” side of the argument in Mississippi. At the Madison shindig, Bryant referenced a report he released in 2006, back when he was the state auditor and gearing up for a run for lieutenant governor. His baby, “The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Mississippi: Costs and Population Trends,” tries to nail down the costs undocumented workers impose upon Mississippi’s economy, but makes the attempt with only some of the numbers. His report quickly classifies “illegal immigrants” as a general pain-in-the-ass by describing them as having an overall negative financial effect on the state’s economy. The document, although a constant reference point at political rallies, starts off with foggy numbers made foggier by the sheer lack of information—starting with the absence of a solid figure on exactly how many immigrants are supposed to be populating the state in the first place. Bryant admits in his report that the numbers vary in degree from the modest 8,000 figure he estimated as the Census Bureau’s figure on undocumented Latinos and up to 100,000 undocumented Latinos suggested by “pro-illegal immigrant advocates” like MIRA. Acknowledging the disparity, Bryant settles upon a mid-point between the two estimates, and creatively determines that 49,000 “illegals” added about $44.2 million to the state in income and sales tax. But the same report estimates that they send some $135 million home to family members, which represents slightly more than $10.3 million in sales tax lost to the state. He concludes that undocumented immigrants cost the state about $25 million per year. But Bryant makes no account of ad valorem taxes the state and municipalities collect as a result of immigrant residency. Total ad valorem assessment for all Mississippi counties in 2008, according to information from the Mississippi Tax Commission, was slightly more than $25 billion. Immigrants are a largely employed population. (Unlike non-citizens, your teen-ager doesn’t have to leave the country if he refuses to find work.) This makes the immigrant population potentially a major component of the ad valorem tax base. After all, immigrants still

have to pay rent like anybody else, and they usually have to have a car. Also, a non-citizen has every reason to make sure his car tag is up to date, since he wouldn’t want a 2008 tag attracting the attention of local police. Using a percentage calculator, 1.7 percent of the state’s population (Bryant’s midlevel undocumented immigrant population of 49,000 individuals compared to the state’s entire population of 2,844,658, based on Census 2000 numbers) could potentially contribute an average of $275 million to the state’s $25,059,150,565 total ad valorem revenue for 2008. Push that figure up to MIRA’s higher non-registered immigrant population estimate of 100,000 (about 3.5 percent of the state’s total population of 2,844,658), and “illegals” could potentially be contributing an average of $877 million in ad valorem taxes. Ironically, there’s nothing about Bryant’s estimated $135 million in mailed-off money that can’t be erased through simple citizenship. Think about it: How many people have an immigrant grandmother who’s still sending money back home to Poland? Not many. Immigrant money, these days, only goes back home because “home,” technically, isn’t here. Move “home” here, and the money stays here at home—just like it did with Grandma. ‘Just the Way It Is’ Rincon’s mother has been bleeding heavily for more than a month now; she has irregular (read: cancerous) cells in her uterus. “We need to get her an operation, but because of her residential status, they’re going to make us pay for her ($12,000) operation up front before they do anything” Rincon’s voice then trails off into painful speculation for a long minute. “But, but that’s just the way it is,” he finishes. Hernandez sold the Jackson store last week, which will give the family an influx of about $5,000 to add to the cause. But if she doesn’t get her operation soon, emergency room staff will inevitably have to deal with what could be a malignant tumor. By the time cancer is getting emergency-room treatment, there’s a good chance bits of it are already streaming through your arteries, planting equally deadly cancerous growths throughout your physiology. Bryant’s July 13 anchor-baby quote stems from a statement on undocumented immigrants’ emergency room costs. His report also made a point to reference health-care costs when writing on the immigration issue ANCHOR BABIES, see page 21

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Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba (holding child) supported a new Jackson ordinance forbidding police from inquiring about citizenship status.

Section 1011 a more accurate determiner for immigrant medical expenditures than the RAND Corp. estimates. The federal government doles out the money according to the state’s immigrant population, and gave Mississippi an average of $190,772 a year to spend on emergency-room immigrant care between 2005 and 2008. So far, the state has yet to spend it all. The latest figures from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009 show that the state had not yet exhausted the remaining $70,488.57 by the time of the federal government’s latest account of the money in May. Figures for fiscal year 2007 reveal that the state spent a total of $190,968.08 of Section 1011 money on uninsured immigrants—not $35 million. But those facts do not help build an antiimmigrant political platform. ‘Attitude Born of Hate’ The impact of new arrivals on the local economy marks an incredible change from the way the city of Jackson and the surrounding suburbs have been interacting for years. MIRA reports a large and expanding immigrant population in the city, particularly in the north Jackson area. Law requires immigrants, both documented and undocumented, to put their children in school, and today there are more Hispanic faces in the Chastain Middle School yearbook than in the past. But a large percentage of the immigrants living in Jackson actually work outside the city. They commute to work from jobs within a 50-mile radius of the city, and they do manual labor for contractors doing work all over the metro area, including the rapidly developing areas in the city’s exploding suburbs. Many stay with friends outside the city during the week as they work for the state and private industry, but they live in Jackson on the weekends and they bring their money back to the city of Jackson in the form of rent, gasoline and various other purchases. This is a complete reversal of the trend for the last few decades, as suburbanites commute to Jackson, use city resources like water and streets to get their jobs done, and then rush home to complain in the afternoon about the city of Jackson—while dumping their Jackson-financed property and sales taxes into their suburban communities. The Latino economic footprint is potentially massive. When U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement conducted the largest single-workplace immigration raid in 2008

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in Mississippi. “The increase of the illegal immigrant population in the United States has very serious hidden medical costs,” Bryant wrote in his 2006 report. His evidence was supposedly a study by research and analysis non-profits the RAND Corp., which found that 68 percent of the undocumented immigrant adults they studied had no health insurance. Bryant then applied that 68 percent to the Mississippi Hospital Association’s estimate that state hospitals provided $504.6 million in uninsured health-care services in 2004. “Of the $504,618,583, (the Office of State Auditor) estimates that about $35,011,580 may be attributed to illegal immigrant costs, not including other governmental-backed medical benefits they may receive,” Bryant declared. These are dangerously dodgy numbers, and Bryant knew it. That’s why he added the disclaimer: “However, because no data regarding immigration status is collected, it is difficult to determine the accuracy of this estimate, especially since Mississippi has a large number of uninsured and under-insured people.” But his proviso doesn’t pardon him, especially since he referenced a source for more stable numbers on the very same page of his report, with this statement: “While these costs are continuously increasing, the federal government is trying to assist states with the financial costs of caring for uninsured immigrants.” The funding he’s referencing comes from the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act’ of 2003. Section 1011 of the bill was funded in 2005. This fund provides federal reimbursement of emergency health services furnished to undocumented aliens. The program provided $250 million per year for hospitals and ambulance providers during the years 2005-2008 to recover the costs of providing uncompensated emergency medical care to undocumented immigrants. Emergency-room care is among the many government services the anti-immigrant clan frequently reference when describing the costs of the undocumented presence in the state. But the truth is that many illegal immigrants do not regularly visit a doctor, so—like under-employed and uninsured citizens— they typically limit their health-care upkeep to desperate emergency room trips when that nagging pain in their abdomen blossoms into an abdominal tumor, just like Rincon’s mom may be doing in the next few months if she can’t raise $12,000. The immigrant’s predilection for lastminute emergency room visits are what make

ANCHOR BABIES, see page 22

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Ulises Rincon (right) on one of his organizing efforts in Pearl.

at Howard Industries’ transformer plant in Laurel, the round up of about 600 individuals reached as far away as the capital city. Many of those young faces in the Chastain yearbook vanished for a few weeks after the raids, some never to return to the school again. “There were people affected all over, but here, too. I imagine some of those children (at Chastain) went home with their parents to countries they’d never seen their entire lives,” Rincon said. “Who knows?” City leaders in Jackson appear to be aware of the value of their new population. The Jackson City Council’s Planning Committee made a strong decision to ensure that the growing immigrant population remains unmolested. On Sept. 8, the committee passed a new ordinance restricting city police from inquiring about residential status at traffic stops or during routine interaction with the public. Bryant—another suburbanite who draws his paycheck from a Jackson office, then takes the money home to Rankin County—was furious at the committee’s decision, and mailed a letter of warning to the council. “[A]n effort by the city council to discourage city employees from verifying the legal status of applicants for public benefits or from cooperating in enforcing federal immigration law would appear to violate state law,” Bryant said. Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba, an advocate of the new ordinance, thumbed his nose at Bryant’s interpretation last month, and referred to Bryant’s opinion as “an attitude born of hate.” In Madison, Wade accused Democrats like the councilman of trying to appeal to the Hispanic population in an effort to scour Latinos for votes. “If it’s all about compassion, why don’t (immigrants) step up and say ‘we just want to work. We don’t want voting rights.’ Do it like that. If those who come to this country say that, they’ll find that they won’t have the supporters they thought they had,” said Wade, who suggested to the JFP in an earlier interview that Hispanics should forfeit the right to vote in the U.S., not exactly dispelling the idea that anti-immigrant hysteria is about keeping the political status quo intact. Russ Latino reinforced the argument pigeon-holing immigrant defenders as opportunists pulling for new votes at the Madison forum, when he told the crowd he believed both Republicans and Democrats on the federal level had ignored “their constitutional duty to defend the border,” for political benefit. “This is a deliberate act,” Latino said at the forum. “What they see is a potential voting bloc of 13 million people ... and instead of being driven by principle and the rule of law,

they are driven by electoral greed.” In those arguments could sit one of the biggest unstated facts behind the tea party’s dislike for Hispanics. It is no secret that it is mostly Republican whites who lead the state’s efforts to lock the doors on immigration. White legislators are primarily the only politicians who appear to champion the volley of Mississippi bills seeking to enforce English as the only officially recognized language in the state or refusing public education or healthcare services to undocumented residents. So far, it is white Republican legislators like Currie who are backing a Mississippi version of the Arizona law. African Americans like Wade and Marcy appear to be among the few blacks joining the effort to discourage the Latino presence in America, and both tend to cater to white conservatives for an audience. The MIRA executive director said the issue sinks further than politics, and comes down to the more fundamental level of race and ethnicity. “I think a lot of the animosity you see against immigrants comes from the fear of a race of people other than white people becoming a majority, as projected for the country by the year 2050,” Chandler said. Think of all the violence and burning and lynching of blacks in the South (and it comes) down to the same thing. They want to terrorize people of color and drive them out. In some ways, things haven’t changed.” I traveled with Rincon door-to-door in Forest. Together, we searched local apartment buildings for signs of Latino culture. “You want to know what profiling is? This here is profiling,” he told me while casting about at the vehicles in the apartment parking lot. Quite frankly, we were searching for indications of Catholicism, pictures of the Virgin Mary, or rosary beads on vehicle dashboards or hanging from rear-view mirrors. We also searched for bumper stickers advocating for South American sports teams. Occasionally, we would snag a Latino face making his or her way to the apartment door. First came the look of suspicion—perhaps a questioning look at me—then Rincon would kick in with a litany of Spanish beginning with the word “hola” (hello), and the tension evaporated. Together we heard tales of law enforcement setting up police checkpoints between the poultry plants and one or more of the main roads. It’s a fretful existence, and it’ll stay that way, by the look of it. Just last week, a scare went out in the Latin community in Pearl. MIRA reported incidents of Pearl police officers knocking on apartment doors, looking to check terrified residents for proof of residency. Pearl Mayor Brad Rogers told the JFP that Pearl school officials were randomly picking apartments and visiting with a police officer in tow, checking for a utility bill or other proof of actual residency, not citizenship. Not to sound soft on undocumented workers, Rogers immediately added that Pearl police were still doing due diligence and checking residential status at checkpoints and during traffic stops. “If they’re here illegally, and we have them on a traffic stop, then, of course, we’re going to deal with them properly,” Rogers said.

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ADAM HUDSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Anything but Ordinary:

Adam and Allison Hudson by Holly Perkins Allison and Adam Hudson have run their wedding photography business for about four years now.

A

dam and Allison Hudson are not your ordinary couple. In fact, they “despise the ordinary” so much that they made it their motto for life and business. So it makes sense that they run their successful photography business, Adam Hudson Photography, in quite the unordinary fashion. The 26-year-old Mississippi natives (Allison from Hattiesburg, Adam from Canton) started their photography business about four years ago, right around the time of their own wedding. Despite their four-year marriage, the couple still act like newlyweds, constantly giggling at each other’s comments and finishing each other’s sentences. Wedding photography appealed to the couple. “There are so many elements; photojournalistic, portraiture, and ev-

September 22 - 28, 2010

ADAM HUDSON PHOTOGRAPHY

ite proposal story from among their clients because “every single one of them is unique, and I think the proposals are, too,” Adam says. The couple’s clients are so interesting because, unlike most photographers, the Hudsons have a selection process for clients. A few factors affect whether they choose a couple, but what helps them decide is how they feel about the couple. “We’re not going to pick a client that we can’t see ourselves being friends with,” Adam says. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have differences. Some of our clients’ political, religious views—all of that—is just completely opposite from what we are, but we still love them as people, and we still get along with them and are great friends with them. So we say if we can’t be friends with them, we won’t select them as clients.” The selection process also allows the Hudsons to make a personal connection with the clients, which is what their photography is all about. To Adam, “Photography is such a personal thing. If there’s any disconnect between the couple’s style and the photographer’s style, then you’re not going to give them what they want.” With Adam Hudson Photography, personality is everything. They try to get to know their clients’ likes, dislikes, wants, needs, history and what they hope to get out of their wedding pictures. They spend hours scoping out the right locations for engagement shoots, mainly in the downtown area. “I love downtown. I really love the juxtaposition of taking a beautiful bride in a stark white dress and putting her against some Adam and Allison Hudson’s wedding photography incorporates big doses derelict building,” says Adam. of the unusual and unexpected. Pictured here are JP and Lauren Clinard. Getting to know a couple’s style and pererything’s just happening so fast,” Adam says. “I think after the sonality is important to them and working as a team helps first wedding that we shot, I was hooked.” For the first few them get a clear idea of the couple as a whole. years of their business, they shot weddings exclusively. “We may have the same style but a different way of getting there. I have a social working background, so I’m more Impressing Allison emotional with my images,” Allison says. “I really strive for that Adam was similarly hooked when he met Allison at Space personal connection, whereas Adam sees things for technical Camp in Jackson when they were 13. They were chosen out of reasons or because he just feels like it looks like a good shot. So the group of campers to be “astronauts” and spend the week in we shoot different things throughout the day then we put it the space capsule. From then on, it was love. together as the full package.” After years of dating, one day Adam drove to Hattiesburg, They also go as far as to use props, if they feel it fits the woke Allison up, threw some clothes in a bag for her and sur- couple’s style. “One couple we had in Louisiana, for some reaprised her with a trip to Irving, Texas. son, really loved oranges and lemons. It just matched their style, “They have kind of like a riverwalk, with a bunch of ca- so we had to go get some of those,” says Allison, who also gathnals,” Adam says. “We were supposed to do a gondola ride that ers the props, schedules shoots and verifies appointments. night, but we got there. and the wind was blowing about 50 Aside from having to supply citrus, the Hudsons have had miles per hour. It was ridiculous.” little drama in their business. They have no juicy “Bridezilla” After hours of waiting for a gondola ride, Adam grew rest- stories, and the worst issue Adam recalls is a disagreement beless, got down on one knee and proposed. The gondola ride tween a bride and her mother. was back on the agenda for the next day, and Allison was still “I think that if we have any sort of roadblock, it’s that thoroughly impressed. mothers of the bride sometimes don’t quite get our style. Or “He pre-wrote a message, and they put it in a bottle, and every now and then, we’ll have some of the officiates of the they had it floating out in the water. And the little gondolier church or some of the little church ladies that just aren’t quite floats us up to it and was like, ‘Oh what’s that? You should get used to it,” he says. it out of the water.’ “It was really sweet, he did a good job,” Allison says. Breaking Tradition One of the things the “little church ladies” have a hard Choosing Clients time understanding is that Adam and Allison will break the Despite having such a romantic proposal story them- age-old tradition of grooms not seeing the bride in her dress 26 selves, Adam and Allison have a hard time choosing a favor- before the wedding. They like to have couples venture outside

for what they call the “first look.” “We’ll set it up so that the groom has his back to the bride, and it’ll be just the two of them in an intimate setting, and she’ll walk up to him and have their ‘first look.’ We go ahead and capture that first expression,” Allison says, smiling as she describes the set-up. The couple didn‘t discover non-traditional photography until a few weeks after their own wedding, so they used a traditional photographer for their ceremony. While they tend to stray from tradition, Adam still believes it has its place. “It’s great, but if you can take it and put your spin on it, then I think that’s the best thing for it. And that’s really the meaning behind the slogan ‘Despise the Ordinary,’” he says. “We always tell our clients, when it comes to their weddings, anything they can do to put their personalities in it and make it about them is better.” Another way the Hudsons try to bring out personality at weddings is with their photo booth. While the photo booth is now available to rent for parties at rentthebooth.com, it used to be available exclusively to brides. “We wanted to give (brides) something special nobody else had,” Adam says. The photos from the booth capture the silly fun of weddings that traditional wedding photography generally doesn’t. They range from a couple sneaking a loving kiss to a group of wedding attendants sticking out their tongues and making funny faces. The photos all add a personal touch to the wedding album. The Hudsons expect to have a new smaller booth with more features available soon for weddings and parties. And the Hudsons are now delving into senior portraits. At the end of the day, the Hudsons care about capturing memories, whether that be high school or wedding day, and they’re committed to understanding their clients’ style and personality to do that. “It’s so important to know your photographer and be on the same page creatively, because when the wedding’s all over, all you have left are those images,” Adam says. “The flowers die. The cake gets eaten. And the dress gets boxed up, but the images are the only thing that last past the day.”

Quick Facts

A

dam uses Nikon digital, with a bit of film and Polaroid with help from the Impossible Project (theimpossible-project.com). But he claims: “I definitely don’t think the equipment makes much of a difference. It’s what’s behind the camera that makes a difference. You can take any good photographer or any person that’s creative and give them a small point-and-shoot, and as long as they can work it, they can definitely get something great out of it. I think it’s more about the connection with the client and how you look at the world more than anything else.” • Wedding coverage starts at $2,000. • The couple is available for travel. • They only shoot one wedding per day. • Some weddings book up to 12 months in advance. • A non-refundable retainer and signed contract are required to reserve a date. Adamhudsonphotography.com has examples of the studio’s photography work. Information about renting a photo booth is at rentthebooth.com.

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DIVERSIONS

S

keeter Phelan never intended to be a catalyst for change. She came from a proper family, had the right friends, attended Ole Miss, belonged to the best clubs. And yet, she felt more solidarity with black housekeepers than her family and friends. Skeeter wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, a civil-rights activist. She was a humanist. She felt a common bond with the struggles of working women supporting their families, and this bond extended beyond skin color and the 1962 conventions of the Deep South. Skeeter was a woman ahead of her time. Like Skeeter, the heroine of Kathryn Stockett’s novel “The Help”—which explores the treatment of black maids by white Jacksonians—filmmaker Tate Taylor is a man ahead of his time. Before “The Help” became a best seller, Taylor spearheaded the adaptation of the book—which his best friend Stockett wrote—for the big screen. He brought in his producing partner Brunson Green, and together they have packaged a film with an impressive cast and the backing of a major movie studio. And then, not forgetting where they came from, Taylor and Green brought the production back home. The Mississippi Factor Every media outlet in metro Jackson and Greenwood announced that DreamWorks Studios had an open casting call for extras and small roles in “The Help.” Droves of people lined up for the opportunity to be in a major motion picture. That’s not surprising. Mississippians adore movies. But how often does a studio-backed production come to town that is based on a book written by a Jackson native (Stockett); has an adapted screenplay written by a Jackson native (Taylor); is to be directed by a Jackson native (Taylor); and the first producer on board is a Jackson native (Green)? Incredibly, the Stockett-Taylor-Green

The Journey to a Major Deal It sounded implausible a few years ago, but Taylor had this brazen idea to develop his friend Stockett’s book “The Help” into a movie. “I was the third person to read the manuscript,” Taylor says during a break. “I knew it would make a great film.” Taylor and Green acquired the movie rights to Stockett’s story in 2008, before the book was published. Taylor immediately started writing the screenplay so he could be prepared to make the movie he wanted to direct. It was an ambitious goal. “I had only directed one and half movies,” Taylor says, adding, “Kathryn believed in me, and I believed in her.” Although his acting resume was full, Taylor’s directing resume was sparse, but notable. Taylor had written and directed the short film “Chicken Party” and the feature-length “Pretty Ugly People,” both of which screened at the Crossroads Film Festival and traveled the festival circuit, garnering bunches of awards. “Pretty Ugly People” was released theatrically last fall in six markets. “(The) film was a success for the most part,” Green says. “But due to the economy, the indie-film market took a hit this last year and (our film) was not a big grosser.” In his work as a director, Taylor has demonstrated a talent for eliciting strong performances, particularly from the female cast members. “Women are funnier than men,” Taylor says, adding that their stakes are higher, making them more interesting. Taylor could be the next George Cukor, one of the great directors who made his female stars legendary. “It is surprising to realize to what extent you echo your family, and how, from childhood, you have been shaped and

molded,” Cukor has said. “The Help” echoes the world that shaped and molded Taylor and Green. They have the perfect sensibilities to make the film. When “The Help” topped the New York Times bestseller list, Taylor and Green had a hot commodity and a viable movie project. With the support of seasoned Hollywood veterans Chris Columbus, Steven Spielberg and others, these two guys from Mississippi turned a nebulous dream into a reality. With the backing of 1492 Pictures and DreamWorks Studios, Taylor and Green assembled an outstanding cast, which includes Emma Stone as Skeeter, Viola Davis as Aibileen, Octavia Spencer as Minny, Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly, Jessica Chastain as Celia, Allison Janney as Charlotte (Skeeter’s mom), Mike Vogel as Johnny and Chris Lowell as Stuart. The Formative Years Taylor and Green were ordinary kids from Jackson who had practical ambitions of going to college and getting good jobs to pay the bills. They loved movies as much as the next person, but they were realists: They did not pursue film degrees. They didn’t even tinker with acting in high school. And while they lived within a mile of each other and had mutual friends, they did not actually meet and

minions at her beck and call, and her word is law in the Junior League. Celia is Hilly’s antithesis. Although she married well and possesses all the modern conveniences of a 1960s household, including five bedrooms, swimming pool and pool house, Celia is not and never will be part of the “in” group. She’s friendly, fun loving, treats the domestic help as equals, and is voluptuous and pretty in a Marilyn Monroe way. Celia is far too threatening to be part of Hilly’s world. “Like Celia, Kathryn and I were outsiders,” Taylor says. “We both had single moms and were latchkey kids.” But, to paraphrase a line from author Jill Conner Browne, Taylor and Stockett made their own kind of fun, including spontaneous trips to Brennan’s in New Orleans when they were in their teens. After graduating from the University of Mississippi and doing marketing for oil companies in Memphis, Taylor got his first glimpse of film production when the grip trucks rolled into his neighborhood in Memphis. “I would come home, change from my suit and watch the filming of ‘The Firm,’” Taylor says. Inspired by what he saw and seeking something more creative than the oil business, Taylor quit his job and moved to Los Angeles.

Crews are transforming some of Fondren’s hotspots, such as Butterfly Yoga, into a Shell station, for the filming of “The Help” in the neighborhood Sept. 23. Follow jacksonfreepress.com for filming updates.

collaborate until 1996, when Green cast Taylor in the first production Green had produced, a short film called “Stick Up.” Taylor’s collaboration with author Stockett goes way back. “Kathryn and I have known each other since the age of 5,” Taylor says. “We did not live in the world of Hillys. We were Celias.” For those who may not have a vivid recollection of Hilly and Celia in “The Help,” Hilly is a Jackson socialite, desperately clinging to the status quo in a southern society on the brink of civil-rights reform. She has a cadre of

“One day I get this call from Kathryn who says, ‘You got out and left for Los Angeles?’” Taylor recalls Stockett asking. “I told her, ‘Get your butt here,’ and the next day she was there.” Stockett and Taylor lived in a cramped apartment above a lingerie shop. Stockett trained as a chef at that time. Taylor worked as a production assistant for “Beavis and Butthead” on MTV and had wispy thoughts of someday helming feature films. Taylor returned to Jackson after he had a serious fall in 1994. “I was in a coma, hospital- 29 jacksonfreepress.com

Floyd Bailey of Itta Bena plays a taxi driver in the movie adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel “The Help” during scenes shot in downtown Greenwood Friday, Sept. 10.

dream team all grew up within a mile of each other in Jackson; Taylor and Stockett attended Jackson Prep; Brunson Jackson Academy. “Our mothers knew each other,” Green said during an interview with the Jackson Free Press at the swanky Delta Bistro in Greenwood. Along with co-producer Sonya Lunsford, we were tucked away in a private booth, set apart from the well-heeled diners. But southern gentility and Mississippi pride moseyed into the conversation. With a boyish grin, Green confirmed the rumors circulating Jackson beauty parlors: Skeeter’s accent is based, in part, on his mother’s southern drawl. Looking around the packed room, Green pointed out at least 10 production members in the local eatery. In fact, Taylor sat at another table squeezing in lunch after the morning rehearsal. He smiled an acknowledgement toward our table before making his way to the next production meeting. Taylor’s a busy man these days.

by Anita Modak-Truran

Jesse Crqw

Taylor Kuykendall, The Greenwood Commonwealth

‘The Help’ Comes Home

gaiety, provocation & tomfoolery

Fondren Art Gallery

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St. Andrew’s Bookstore will close on September 30, 2010

FINAL SALE! FINAL MARKDOWNS!

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All Gift Items 50% off All Books 40% off All Bibles & Books of Common Prayer 30% off Bring your Holiday - Advent - Christmas Lent - Easter Gift List! Lots of Stocking Stuffers! Gifts for family, friends, teachers, co-workers, clergy!

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September 22 - 28, 2010

2011 CALENDARS

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More Than Just A Religious Bookstore

B ookstore

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Robert Darden, The Greenwood Commonwealth

film friend Mary Preston Hays in 1995. “Tate was in Jackson at that time and wanted to get into film. Mary Preston said, ‘You need to meet Brunson; he’s in town,’” Green says. They were introduced at a Medgar Evers homecoming event and reconnected in Los Angeles. Expanding the Southern Base While Green and Taylor developed their film careers, Sonya Lunsford, who is from Georgia, was moving and shaking her own way in the film business. “I started in craft services providing snacks and refreshments for commercial crews in Atlanta,” Lunsford says. “I liked the business so much I wanted to work in every single department to see where I could land.” Having a knack for budgets and finances, Lunsford found that she best enjoyed the business end of production. Lunsford worked her way up the ranks from accounting clerk to co-producer. Among other films, she managed the budgets on Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” “Che” Parts 1 and 2, and “The Good German.” Around the time that Green and Taylor were doing their first short film, “Chicken Party,” Lunsford had reconnected with Green, whom she first met when he was her neighbor in Austin. “There was a whole southern contingent that would get together in L.A., and we talked about projects,” Lunsford says. Lunsford’s first project with Green and Taylor was their feature film, “Pretty Ugly People.” After working on the $60 million “Che” films, Lunsford knew “there was nothing we couldn’t do.” Converging Forces A convergence of forces aligned perfectly for adapting “The Help” into a movie. Besides the obvious fact that the book became a tri-

umphant success and that Taylor, Green and Lunsford had reached the right stage in their careers to pull off a major motion picture, Chris Columbus, who has a distinguished career directing and producing films, including “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” took a shine to the project. Taylor met Columbus a few years ago. “My sister lives in San Francisco, and her daughter goes to school with Chris’ daughter. When my niece was invited to a sleepover at the Columbus home, I asked her to take a copy of ‘Chicken Party’ with her. Yes, I pimped my 10-year-old niece,” Taylor says, laughing. “Chris loved the film, and we met and talked and kept in touch.” With his clout and stature in the film industry, Columbus actively campaigned to get “The Help” made. It is because of Columbus that this film had a fast track and did not languish in the studio system. While there were many studios vying for the opportunity, DreamWorks Studios sealed the deal first. The film “landed in the right place,” says Lunsford, who has worked for a number of studios. “DreamWorks Studio has been extremely supportive in making this film,” Taylor says. Taylor and Green wanted to film in Mississippi because it grounds the film in authenticity. “I used to hunt in Carrollton, Miss.,” Taylor says. This area is “a timeless, enchanting place. It’s very cinematic.” The Homecoming The Mississippi Film Office, the Mississippi Development Authority, the GreenwoodLeFlore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation, the Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau, Bill Crump, chairman of the foundation, and Viking Range CEO Fred Carl Jr. made Mississippi a financial viable place to

No Rough Edges serving his country, and Miss Grace mourns his death by scrawling out long letters to her dead son. Her daughter Savannah (Savannah Bearden) and the family housekeeper Sherrene (Stephanie Norwood) fret about Miss Grace’s reclusiveness. Murphy’s widow, Hope, is too dazed and confused to help. The movie gets more interesting and a bit less predictable when John Mazilli In “One Came Home,” the fictional city of Magnolia, Miss., seems perfect. But is it? (Corey Parker of “Will & Grace” fame) wanders into Miss Grace’s life. Mazilli ne Came Home,” the first feature film from claims to be Murphy’s war buddy, and he has a dandy idea Rolling Fork native Willy Bearden, is about an to build a war memorial for his unit. Miss Grace lights up. idyllic rural community in Mississippi called “Will this memorial include Murphy?” she asks. Magnolia, where all the mamas are nice, all “Why, of course,” John responds. the men are handy, and all the grown children live with While not journeying into virgin territory, the their parents. If there was a water body nearby (perhaps Bearden and David Tankersley-written “One Came just an outdoor privy where the snakes run rampant), this Home,” inspired by Bearden’s own family history, is town would be Mississippi’s version of Lake Wobegon. homey and comfortable and provides a glimpse of the Set in 1946, everybody in Magnolia knows Miss shattered innocence of the post-WWII era. Ryan Parker’s Grace’s (Julia Ewings) sad story. Her son Murphy died cinematography, Rachel Bolden’s art direction and Meri-

“O

Extras and crew members from “The Help” wait for direction Friday, Sept. 10, during shooting on Howard Street in downtown Greenwood. Shooting moves to Fondren this week.

bring a studio picture. The Mississippi Film Office started working with Green and Taylor on the film in October 2009. “This is a different production from others, because Brunson and Tate are from here, and they know what they wanted,” Film Office Deputy Director Nina Parikh says. “They have a very good sense of the book and this project and really good instincts,” Film Office Director Ward Emling adds. Filming “The Help” in Mississippi not only brings money into the state, it does something less tangible, but more important in many respects. Working on this film can change someone’s life. “Brunson and Tate began their careers as PAs in Mississippi,” Emling says. “Now they are doing a major motion picture.” He adds that having this opportunity allows folks to “decide if this is something they want to do or not want to do with their life.” No one can predict what may develop from the friendships formed on the set of “The Help.” But there’s a strong likelihood that future Mississippi filmmakers will have begun their careers from being an extra or a production assistant on the movie that Green and Taylor brought home.

by Anita Modak-Truran

wether Nichols’ costume design steep the film in the quiet beauty of a bygone era. The talented cast keeps the material interesting. Ewings (a well-known Memphis stage actress who has Jessica Tandy appeal) portrays Miss Grace as kind and understanding. Savannah Bearden, the luminescent daughter of the director, strikes the right blend of cautious optimism. Giles lightens up the melodrama with her motor mouth bursts. These characters are all salt-of-the-earth types. John sums it up when he asks, “Is everyone this nice?” This is a movie without any rough edges. Bearden wraps the film tight in a Capra-esque homily. Given that this film cost as much as one lunch on a Hollywood picture, Bearden’s final product, an obvious labor of love by all involved, is a major accomplishment. “One Came Home” premieres throughout Mississippi beginning Sept. 20. It screens at Malaco Theaters in Madison, Monday, Sept. 20; Columbus, Wednesday, Sept. 22; Oxford, Thursday, Sept. 23; Tupelo, Monday, Sept. 27; Corinth, Wednesday, Sept. 29; and Southaven, Thursday, Sept. 30.

jacksonfreepress.com

courtesy Willy Bearden

ized for five weeks and almost died,” he says. During his recuperation, Taylor says he was “stricken by how stupid it is to have fear.” Setting aside his doubts, he committed himself to a building a film career. He applied to be a production assistant for “A Time to Kill,” which filmed in Canton in 1994 and got the job. Taylor was the only locally hired production assistant on the Warner Brothers production. Like Taylor, Green’s foray into film was a non-linear journey home. “I had graduated in economics from Trinity University in San Antonio,” Green says. “But there was a recession back then. I had one job offer, and it was not very attractive. So I had a one- to two-year window to look into film before I had to get a real job. “My only connection to film was my friend John Gibson, who is from Jackson,” Green says. Gibson hooked Green up with a props guy who was looking for an unpaid intern on a TV movie pilot for the CBS series “Ned Blessing.” “I basically cleaned a bunch of guns after the shoot-outs,” Green says. His first paid film job was in Mississippi working on locations casting on “The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag.” His boss was casting director Kerry Barden. Eighteen years later, Barden is casting “The Help.” “It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do,” Green says. “I was a production assistant; I did locations casting; I worked as an assistant to a producer. I then started being a first (assistant director).” These experiences led Green to producing shorts such as “Stick Up” and Lorraine Bracco’s “Auto Motives,” and feature films such as “Fool’s Gold,” a Sundance Film Festival selection, and “The Journeyman,” a spaghetti-styled western starring Barry Corbin and Willie Nelson. Green met Taylor through their mutual

31

BEST BETS September 22 - 29 by Latasha Willis events@jacksonfreepress.com Fax: 601-510-9019 Daily updates at jfpevents.com

Wednesday 9/22

Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau

See the homeless photography exhibit “That’s Not All There Is” at Eudora Welty Library (300 N. State St.). Free; call 601-960-2178. … Artist Glennray Tutor discusses his paintings during “History Is Lunch” at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.) at noon. Bring a lunch; call 601-576-6998. … “Legally Blonde: The Musical” at Thalia Mara Hall is at 7:30 p.m. $20-$62.50; call 800-7453000. … The play “Red, White & Tuna” at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.) is also at 7:30 p.m. with shows through Sept. 26. $25, $22 students and seniors; call 601-948-3533. … Singer/Songwriter Night at Hal & Mal’s is at 8 p.m. Free. … Saving Abel, We Are the Fallen and Teddy Porter perform at Fire at 9 p.m. For ages 18 and up; call 601-592-1000. … Cary Hudson performs at Fenian’s at 9 p.m. Free.

perform at 930 Blues Café at 9 p.m. $5. … Time to Move performs at Dreamz Jxn from 9:30-11 p.m. Call 601-979-3994.

Friday 9/24

Starting at 8 a.m. today through Thursday, Sept. 30, visit the St. Andrew’s Bookstore’s closing sale at 305 E. Capitol St. Major markdowns. Call 601.353.2021 for daily hours. ... The Jackson Bike Advocates’ Autumn Community Bike Ride starts at Rainbow Whole Foods (2807 Old Canton Road) at 6 p.m. E-mail jacksonbikeadvocates@gmail.com. … See mini-plays “Rat Wives” and “Chicks” at Millsaps Christian Center Auditorium (1701 N. State St.) at 7:30 p.m.; shows through Sept. 26. $5; call 601-974-1422. … The play “Bridge to Terabithia” at Actor’s Playhouse (121 Paul Truitt Lane, Pearl) is at 7:30 p.m.; shows through Sept. 26. Ticket price TBA; call 601-664-0930. … Mississippi Greek Week Block Jam is on Farish St. from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. … Salsa Mississippi’s Latin rooftop dance party at Fondren Corner (2906 N. State St.) is at 8 p.m. $10; call 601-213-6355. … King Edward performs at Underground 119 from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Call 601352-2322. … Big Rock Candy Mountain plays at Ole Tavern at 9 p.m. $5. … Splendid Chaos plays at Fire at 10 p.m. Call 601-592-1000. … Mississippi Sound performs with Jackie Bell at F. Jones Corner from 11:30 p.m.-4 a.m. $10.

Saturday 9/25

The Market in Fondren at 3270 N. State St. is at 8 a.m. Free; call 601-832-4396. … WellsFest at Jamie Fowler Boyll Park (3601 Lakeland Lane) is at 10 a.m. Performers include Los Papis and Taylor Hildebrand. Free admission; call 601-353-0658. … The open house at Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project’s Farmers’ Market (2548 Livingston Road) is at 10 a.m. Free; call 601-987-6783 or 601-951-9273. … Ginger Williams-Cook will give a gallery talk at the Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.) at 2 p.m. Free; call 601-960-1557. … Wear your official JSU Blackout T-shirt to the JSU football game against Mississippi Valley State at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium (2531 N. State St.) The permanent exhibit “Kinetic Vapor” at the Jackson Convention Complex is made of aluminum panels and LED lights.

September 22 - 28, 2010

Mississippi Greek Weekend kicks off today and lasts through Sept. 26. $25, other fees may apply; visit mississippigreekweekend.eventbrite.com. ... Downtown at Dusk at the Old Capitol Inn (226 N. State St.) from 5-8 p.m. ... Tapas & Wine at Huntington’s Grille (1001 E. County Line Road) is at 6 p.m. $45; RSVP at 601-957-1515. … Symphony at Sunset at The Cedars Historic Home (4145 Old Canton Road) at 7 p.m. Free; call 601-981-9606. … The musical “Little Women” at Mississippi College (200 Capitol St., Clinton) in Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall is at 7 p.m. with shows through Sept. 26. $15, $10 students; call 601-925-3440. … Purse Strings plays in Hal & Mal’s Big Room. Call 601-94832 0888. … Jackie Bell, Norman Clark & Smoke Stack Lightning

Sunday 9/26

See the new “Kinetic Vapor” art exhibit at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.) during business hours. Free; call 601-960-2321. … Andy Hardwick performs at Fitzgerald’s brunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 601-601-9572800. … Knight Bruce plays during brunch at Sophia’s, Fairview Inn (734 Fairview St.) at 11 a.m. Call 601-948-3429.

Monday 9/27

See Food Network’s Emeril Lagasse at the Viking Golf Classic at Annandale Golf Club (419A Annandale Parkway, Madison). $20-$100, parking fees vary; call 601-898-GOLF (4653). … The Central Mississippi Blues Society Jam at Hal & Mal’s is from 8-11 p.m. $5.

Tuesday 9/28

Pianist Rachel Herd performs during Music in the City at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) at 5:45 p.m. Free, donations welcome; call 601-354-1533. … Taylor Hildebrand plays the Tall Grass Beer Dinner at Parker House (104 N.E. Madison Drive, Ridgeland). Call 601-856-0043.

Wednesday 9/29

… Hunter Gibson and Rick Moreira perform at Pelican Cove from 7-10 p.m. Call 601-605-1865. … Bill & Temperance perform at Underground 119 at 8 p.m. Call 601-3522322. … Switchfoot performs at Fire at 9 p.m. For ages 18 and up; call 601-354-9712. More events and details at jfpevents.com.

Singer Tonya Boyd-Cannon performs at this year’s Mississippi Greek Weekend. Carlyn Photography

Thursday 9/23

at 6 p.m. $10 shirt; visit jsublackout.com. … Chasing Scarlett plays at Poets II. Call 601-364-9411. … Ingram Hill performs in Hal & Mal’s Big Room at 9 p.m. $10. … American Aquarium and Furrows play at Martin’s at 10 p.m. Call 601-3549712.

by Pamela Hosey

Small Town, Big Mystery

C

Courtesy William Morrow

books

ritics have hailed Tom Franklin’s latest novel, “Crooked Letter Crooked Letter” (William Morrow, 2010, $24), as his best and most accessible work to date. Franklin was raised in rural southwest Alabama and currently resides in Oxford, Miss., with his wife, poet Beth Ann Fennelly. Franklin is a writer-in-residence at the University of Mississippi. His first book was the highly regarded short story collection, “Poachers” (1999), and Franklin has also published two critically acclaimed novels: “Hell at the Breech” (2003) and “Smonk” (2006). “Crooked Letter Crooked Letter” is set in the rural Mississippi town of Chabot, which is like every small town: Everyone knows your business, and if you develop a reputation it will likely stay with you forever. Larry Ott and Silas Jones become secret friends after Silas and his mother move to an abandoned cabin on Larry’s father’s land. Always an introvert and labeled “weird” in school, Larry prays constantly for a friend, and he finally meets Silas. But then a girl goes missing after a date with Larry, and the boys part ways. Larry remains in Chabot, known as “Scary Larry,” while Silas moves away, returning later as constable of a nearby town. The two haven’t crossed paths in 20 years. That is, until another missing girl casts suspicion on Larry again. “Crooked Letter Crooked Letter” will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. The JFP spoke with Franklin by phone.

police officer in Fulton, Ala. I kept that in mind and wanted to add the mechanic with no customers, but still there wasn’t a connection between the two. I have a friend who is African American, and he told me to make the police officer black. I made those two characters friends, and the rest came to me as the book progressed.

How did you come up with the title? I really felt “Crooked Letter Crooked Letter” was a great title for a crime novel. I loved the repetition of it. I was really surprised that no one has ever used the title before. Also, “crooked letter crooked letter” is part of the way southern children learn to spell the word Mississippi.

What do you want readers to take away from this novel? Take away hope for the South no matter how much people put it down. Know that no matter how far you run, you will never escape your past. Tom Franklin signs and reads from “Crooked Letter Crooked Letter” Sept. 30 at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., 601-366-7619). The signing is at 5 p.m. and the reading at 5:30 p.m.

Where did the story come from? The idea came when I met the only

You once said: “I felt alien in my childhood.” Does this play a strong part in your development of Larry Ott? Absolutely! Some of the story is autobiographical. Some of the things that happened to Larry happened to me as well, especially the drive-thru and haunted-house incidents. When I finished the book, I realized that Larry and I were alike. Also, like Silas, I left the South and returned after a couple of years. You wrote from both a black man and a white man’s perspective. Were you worried about tackling a sensitive issue such as race? I was afraid to get it wrong. Anyone writing about another gender or race would be worried. I had a friend who was black, and he helped me a lot. I tried to focus on basically writing about men. That made the process easier.

One Man’s Journey by Katie Stewart IF YOU HAVE A WEDDING COMING UP AND YOU’D LIKE TO BE PROFILED IN HITCHED, OR IF YOU’D LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT WEDDINGS CONTACT THE JFP HITCHED STAFF AT jacksonfreepress.com

When Karel is 15, the Spaniard Guillermo Villaseñor stuns Dalton by betting his three daughters as wives for Skala’s oldest sons in a horse race with Karel, the youngest Skala boy, and Graciela, Villaseñor’s third daughter, riding. Karel encounters Graciela and falls helplessly in love with her. Machart writes in an easy, loping manner, his writing style mimicking the gait of a calm, powerful horse. His metaphors are achingly true and fresh, and his characters shine with realism. Bruce Machart signs and reads from “The Wake of Forgiveness” Wednesday, Sept. 29, starting at 5 p.m. at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., 601-366-7619). Courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

B

ruce Machart’s debut novel “The Wake of Forgiveness” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010, $26) is a journey down a path of loss and pain, into the emergence of hope and peace. The novel follows Karel, the youngest son of a Vaclav Skala, a Czech farmer in Dalton, Texas. Karel’s mother dies at his birth in 1895, leaving his father an angry man. Vaclav blames Karel for his wife’s death and never once touches him, not even in anger. Karel keenly feels his father’s rejection and his older brothers’ teasing. Together, the Skalas farm, breed racehorses and yield to their pain and loss. Vaclav forces his sons to plow, reserving the horses for racing, yet Karel becomes a fine rider.

33

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jfpevents JFP-SPONSORED EVENTS Radio JFP on WLEZ ongoing, at WLEZ 100.1 FM and wlezfm.com. Join Donna Ladd and Todd Stauffer every Thursday from noon-1 p.m., where they discuss vital issues and play local music. This week’s guests are Stacy Walker and Jeremy Cooper of Black Rose Theater and Dr. Clyde Muse and Leah Helm, who will talk about the 2010 Start! Heart Walk. Listen to podcasts of all shows at jfpradio.com. Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 17. The Market in Fondren Sept. 25, 8 a.m., at 3270 N. State St., in the parking lot across from Mimi’s. Local artists and food producers will sell goods. Entertainment provided. Free; call 601-832-4396. WellsFest Sept. 25, 10 a.m., at Jamie Fowler Boyll Park (3601 Lakeland Lane). The family-friendly music festival includes a children’s fair, a crafts fair, a silent auction, food, a 5K run/walk and 1K fun run at 8 a.m. and a pet parade. Proceeds benefit Mississippi Families for Kids, a nonprofit adoption agency. Free admission; prices for food, games and run/walk vary; call 601-353-0658. Mississippi Happening ongoing. The live monthly broadcast is hosted by Guaqueta Productions and features a special musical guest. Download free podcasts at mississippihappening.com. Visit the website for a chance to win free weekend tickets to Voodoo Music Experience 2010.

COMMUNITY Blood Pressure Checks for Seniors. The blood pressure checks and information about eating whole grains are for qualifying individuals ages 55 or older living within the Jackson city limits. Free; call 601960-0335. • Sept. 28, 11 a.m., at Madonna Manor Retirement Center (550 Houston Ave.). • Sept. 29, 11 a.m., at Golden Key Multi-purpose Senior Center (3450 Albermarle Road). Events at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). • Jackson Heart Study Scientific Conference 2010 Sept. 23-24. The theme is “Toward Resolution of Cardiovascular Health Disparities.” The conference will showcase scientific discoveries in the field of cardiovascular and related diseases. Medical professionals, students, community members and Jackson Heart Study participants are invited to attend. Registration discounts apply for students and nurses. $275; call 601-940-9181. • 61st Annual NCADD Celebration Sept. 28, 6 p.m. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence’s event includes a silent auction and remarks by Chris Kennedy Lawford. $20; call 601-899-5880. Young Professionals Alliance Luncheon Sept. 23, noon, at Clarion-Ledger Community Room (311 E. Pearl St.). Guest speaker, Jackson Police Department Assistant Chief Lee Vance. $10, $7 members; e-mail nmcnamee@greaterjacksonchamber partnership.com.

September 22 - 28, 2010

Downtown at Dusk Sept. 23, 5 p.m., at Old Capitol Inn (226 N State St.). The monthly event includes food for sale by Old Capitol Inn, $2 beer, water and soft drinks and music by Coop D’Belle. Free admission; call 601-974-6044, ext. 221.

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Mississippi Greek Weekend Sept. 23-26. The weekend is a series of events designed to promote Greek and non-Greek unity while highlighting community service and social action across the state. Venues include the Roberts Walthall Hotel, Afrika Book Cafe, Trustmark Park, Farish Street, Jackson State University, Club Rain, Dreamz Jxn and Mt. Helm Baptist Church. For a schedule of events and to purchase passes, visit mississippigreekweekend. eventbrite.com. Charges vary for individual events. $25 all-access pass, other fees may apply; call 601706-9273 or 601-953-7284.

Tapas & Wine Sept. 23, 6 p.m., at Huntington’s Grille (1001 E. County Line Road). Enjoy a tapas tasting menu with dishes prepared by celebrity chef Luis Bruno and paired wines. A reservation is required. $45; call 601-957-1515. Precinct 4 COPS Meeting Sept. 23, 6 p.m., at Redeemer Church (640 E. Northside Drive). These monthly meetings are forums designed to help resolve community issues or problems, from crime to potholes. Call 601-960-0004. Autumn Community Bike Ride Sept. 24, 6 p.m., at Rainbow Whole Foods Co-operative Grocery (2807 Old Canton Road). Jackson Bike Advocates is the host. The 90-minute bike ride will be followed by refreshments at Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.). E-mail jacksonbikeadvocates@gmail.com. Latin Rooftop Dance Party Sept. 24, 8 p.m., at Fondren Corner (2906 N. State St.). The dance party with Latin music such as salsa, merengue, bachata and cha cha is sponsored by Salsa Mississippi and La Salsa Dance Studio. Beer, water and sodas will be available. $10; call 601-213-6355. “Buy the Book” Book Sale Sept. 25, 10 a.m., at Eudora Welty Library (300 N. State St.). The event is sponsored by Jackson Friends of the Library. Call 601-968-5811. Open House Sept. 25, 10 a.m., at Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project’s Farmers’ Market (2548 Livingston Road). See the facility’s new fitness center and rental space. Activities include a 5K run/walk, health screenings, a space jump, food, the Jackson Fire Department Fire House and other entertainment. Free; call 601-987-6783 or 601-951-9273. Viking Golf Classic Sept. 27-Oct. 3, at Annandale Golf Club (419A Annandale Parkway, Madison). Mississippi’s premiere professional sporting event is where professional cooking meets professional golf. Join other golf or culinary enthusiasts to watch PGA players battle it out for the top prize or celebrity chefs such as Emeril Lagasse demonstrate their cooking skills. $20-$100, parking fees vary; call 601-898-GOLF (4653). “Expanding Your Business Through International Trade” Webinar Sept. 28, 10 a.m., at mississippi. org/webinars. The event will provide an overview of business opportunities that exist in the global market. Registration required. Free; call 601-359-3155. Jackson Audubon Society Monthly Chapter Meeting Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m., at Eudora Welty Library (300 N. State St.). Skipper Anding, former JAS president, will speak on the topic “A Fascination with Birds: A Photographic Presentation.” Open to the public. Free; call 601-956-7444. College and Career Readiness Workshops Sept. 29, 8:30 a.m., at Hinds Community College, Raymond Campus (501 E. Main St., Raymond). The workshops will provide school counselors with an opportunity to learn about the latest ACT updates and how Mississippi’s students are performing on the ACT. ACT will provide information on measuring college and career readiness and how having and using good data leads to timely intervention. A continental breakfast is included. Free; visit act.org/ccrw. “History Is Lunch” Sept. 29, noon, at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Curator Ellen Ruffin talks about the de Grummond Collection at USM. Bring a lunch; coffee/ water provided. Free; call 601-576-6998. You Have the Mic ongoing, at Afrika Book Cafe (404 Mitchell Ave.). The open political forum for discussing Jackson’s current issues is hosted by Othor Cain and Mista Main of Hot 97.7 FM on Mondays from 6-8 p.m. E-mail afrikabookcafe@ gmail.com. Ask for More Arts Call for Artists ongoing. Ask for More Arts is currently seeking artists to work with children in grades K-5 in the Jackson Public Schools district. Parents for Public Schools is the convening partnerCall 601-969-6015.

CREATIVE CLASSES

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” Sept. 23-26, at Black Rose Community Theatre (103 Black St., Brandon). The biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to life in this musical. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23-25 and 2 p.m. Sept. 26. $12, $10 students/seniors; call 601-825-1293.

Shut Up and Write! Sign up for the workshop series of JFP editor-in-chief Donna Ladd’s popular non-fiction and creativity classes. Classes are forming now, so call 601-362-6121, ext. 16 or e-mail class@jacksonfreepress.com to be added to the list.

“Red, White & Tuna” through Sept. 26, at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The southern comedy is about the polyester-clad citizens of Tuna, Texas. Show times are 7:30 p.m. through Sept. 25 and 2 p.m. Sept 26. $25, $22 seniors and students; call 601-948-3533.

Increase Your Intuition Workshop Sept. 25, 1 p.m., at Butterfly Yoga (3025 N. State St.). Intuitive counselor Jamie Roth will lead the interactive workshop on improving your intuitive abilities. Advance tickets only. Registration includes a workbook and a bag. $85; visit intuitiveencounters.com.

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS

“Little Women” through Sept. 26, at Mississippi College (200 Capitol St., Clinton), in Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall. The musical is based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Show times are 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. $15, $10 students; call 601-925-3440.

“Works on Paper” through Sept. 24, at Lewis Art Gallery (1701 N. State St.). Professors Nicole Hand and Jim Bryant of Murray State University present a large exhibition of prints and handmade books. Free; call 601-974-1762.

“Bridge to Terabithia” through Sept. 26, at Actor’s Playhouse (121 Paul Truitt Lane, Pearl). The fantasy play is based on a novel by Katherine Patterson. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. $15, $10 seniors/students/military; call 601-664-0930.

Exposed Party Sept. 28, 7 p.m., at Mississippi Craft Center (950 Rice Road, Ridgeland). Twelve craftsmen shed their inhibitions and their clothes to “expose” their craft. Ticket price includes an “Expose Yourself to Craft” 2011 calendar. $30, Call 601-856-7546.

“Rat Wives” and “Chicks” Sept. 24-26, at Millsaps Christian Center Auditorium (1701 N. State St.). The plays are presented by Millsaps’ Theatre Department. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24-25 and 2 p.m. Sept. 26. $5; call 601974-1422 for more info.

“Art Revival” Sept. 23, 5 p.m., at The South Warehouse Gallery (627 E. Silas Brown St.). See a variety of artwork as the gallery celebrates its grand opening. Free; call 601-968-0100 or 601398-5237.

MUSIC Symphony at Sunset Sept. 23, 7 p.m., at The Cedars Historic Home (4145 Old Canton Road). The Fondren Renaissance Foundation presents music from the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Free; call 601-981-9606. Events at Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.). Free; call 601-974-1422. • Collaborative Program with the University of Alabama Sept. 25, 2 p.m. Raphael Crystal will perform music by the late Lehman Engel. • Music Faculty Showcase Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m., in the recital hall. Millsaps instructors will showcase their talents. Music in the City Sept. 28, 5:15 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Hors d’oeuvres will be served first, and the performance by pianist Rachel Herd begins at 5:45 p.m. Free, donations welcome; call 601-354-1533.

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS Events at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 North). Call 601-366-7619. • “Under Surge, Under Siege: The Odyssey of Bay St. Louis and Katrina” Sept. 23, 5 p.m. Ellis Anderson signs copies of his book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $25 book. • Lemuria Story Time Sept. 25 and 29, 10:30 a.m. Sept. 25, the book is “A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea.” Sept. 29, the book is “Mostly Monsterly.” Free admission. • “Ninth Ward” Sept. 29, 5 p.m. Jewell Parker Rhodes signs copies of her book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $15.99 book. •”The Wake of Forgiveness” Sept. 29, 5 p.m. Bruce Machart signs copies of his book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $26 book. Mississippi Theatre Association Playwriting Competition through Oct. 1. The association is calling for Mississippi playwrights to submit their original, one-act plays. The winners in each division will have a staged reading of their work presented at the 2011 Mississippi Theatre Association Festival. The deadline is Oct. 1. $10; e-mail beth_kander@ yahoo.com.

“Transforming the Human Spirit” through Oct. 2, at Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center (528 Bloom St.). The exhibit emphasizes that the change from a culture of war to a culture of peace requires a change in the human heart. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Free; call 601-513-1757.

Wednesday, September 22th

Ladies’ Night w/ Snazz 8:30 p.m. - Guys’ Cover $5

BUY 1, GET 1 WELLS

Thursday, September 23th

Bike Night w/ Krazy Karaoke 7:00 p.m. - No Cover

$2 MARGARITAS! Fri. & Sat., Sept. 24th & 25th

FAZE 4

8:30 p.m. - $5 cover

Purse Strings Sept. 23, 5:30 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). More than 50 designer and fashion handbags, wallets and accessories will be up for bid at the silent auction and cocktail reception. Proceeds benefit CredAbility by expanding the educational outreach to women on managing their personal finances. $45; e-mail sherry.rainey@ credability.org. 2010 Light the Night Walk Sept. 25, 7 p.m., at Trustmark Park (1 Braves Way, Pearl). Check-in starts at 5:30 p.m. The annual twomile walk is a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Mississippi. Donations welcome; call 601-956-7447. Fifth Annual Cure Sickle Cell Walk, Run & Ride Sept. 26, 4 p.m., at Jackson State University, Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center (32 Walter Payton Drive). Enjoy the Metro Parkway by walking, running or riding a bike along the 5K route. Proceeds benefit the Cure Sickle Cell Foundation. $20 individuals, $15 team members; call 601-853-3402. “Fed Up” Sept. 28, 7 p.m., at Kathryn’s (6800 Old Canton Road). The Detectives Mystery Dinner Theatre presents the four-act interactive comedy. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Fund. $50; call 601-291-7444.

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm UPCOMING SHOW:

LUCERO

October 7th Exquisite Dining at

The Rio Grande Restaurant

Tickets $15 Advance @ Ole Tavern, $20 at Door

thursday

SEPTEMBER 23

LADIES NIGHT with MR. NICK! LADIES DRINK FREE

WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM 400 Greymont Ave., Jackson 601-969-2141 www.regencyjackson.com

Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings. To add an event, e-mail all details (phone number, start/end date and time, street address, cost, URL, etc.) to events@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601510-9019. The deadline is noon the Thursday prior to the week of publication. Or add the event online yourself; check out jfpevents.com for instructions.

BE THE CHANGE

Weekly Lunch Specials

friday

SEPTEMBER 24

BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN

saturday

Team Loyalty Contests and Sports Trivia! All games for the NFL Sunday Ticket, ESPN Game Plan and NFL Channel showing here! 20+ TVs and a Projector Screen!

SEPTEMBER 25

DEAD GAZE

w/ Nine Giants

tuesday

SEPTEMBER 28

OPEN MIC with Cody Cox

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Daily Lunch Specials - $9

wednesday

Happy Hour Everyday 4-7

KARAOKE

SEPTEMBER 29

LATE NIGHT HAPPY HOUR

KJ STACHE & DJ NICK

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FREE WiFi

Sunday - Thursday 10pm - 12am

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

601.978.1839

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jacksonfreepress.com

STAGE AND SCREEN

35

music

EAR TO THE BEATS by David Dennis Jr.

THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 23 Ladies Night, Ladies Drink Free 9-11

Getting it Done

FRI & SAT - SEPTEMBER 24 & 25

WILLY WAGGS

A

bout a month ago, I admonished up-and-coming artists to embrace the concept of free music. The argument was simple: Free music makes it easier for artists to disseminate their product to as many people as possible. Exposure is the new currency. Let’s assume that you agree with everything I said and decided to put out music for free. A question remains: How do I get my music to the most people? Dear musician: The bloggers are the most important people you need to get your music to. Yes, they’re more important than record labels at this point, as record label reps pretty much just scour the net and listen to music on blogs to find the next big artists. Basically, if you don’t have a buzz on the Internet, you have a slim chance of catching the eyes and ears of the record labels. As someone that has been writing for the blog world for the last two years, I receive a ton of requests from artists looking for coverage. Some of the music is horrible. Some is great. Most is mediocre. And a ton of these musicians get ignored because they don’t know how to present their music. Here are a few tips to help artists get the attention of the music tastemakers and get some all-important exposure.

SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 26 8 BALL TOURNAMENT FREE FOOD!

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2636 S. Gallatin Jackson, MS 39204

601-961-4747

LIVE ON PPV

M IR

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September 22 - 28, 2010

September 25 Fight begins at 9pm

36

-ILLER (IGHLIFE #ENT "ONELESS 7INGS DURING !LL #OLLEGE &OOTBALL 'AMES 1428 Old Square Road in Jackson 601.713.2700 lastcallsportsgrill.com

D’Arcy Norman

www.myspace.com/popsaroundthecorner

The digital age of music has rules of engagement. Dave Dennis clues us in.

The Art of E-mailing First, learn your crowd. Scour the net and find the top music blogs for your genre. For hip-hop, you want to try the majors: NahRight, RapRadar, The Smoking Section, IllRoots, etc. Also, try a few smaller blogs that may not get so many songs every day. Each website will have an e-mail address for music submissions. Believe it or not, most sites actually check those e-mails. Now—and this is a big one—e-mail every website individually! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten e-mails that say “Exclusive Music� addressed to dozens of people. Tacky.

Keep the body of the e-mail short, sweet and flattering. The age of the press kit is over. Save those page-long histories of your career for your VH1 special. All this e-mail needs is a quick overview of who you are, your project and when it’s coming out. Be suree to keep things brief because ‌ Time is of the Essence I’m pretty low on the hierarchy of the world’s important music bloggers. Still, I get no fewer than 30 new e-mails a day from artists wanting me to listen to their music. Add that to the amount of new music established artists put out every day, and I’m looking at about 50 new songs on an average day. So imagine how much music the big-time bloggers and music journalists get. Because of this endless flood of new music, listening can sometimes be a chore. The only music that gets heard is the music that takes the least amount of effort to listen to. A lot of artists like to use Bandcamp, but Bandcamp music rarely gets listened to. To get the project, one has to send in an e-mail addresses and then download. Those few seconds are like hours to someone who has hundreds of songs waiting in the inbox. Instead, download the song to Usershare or another file-sharing site and simply supply the link. A lot of bloggers are short on inbox space, so don’t attach the file. Those are the first to get deleted. Don’t Be The Annoying Guy This is most important. The worst type of musician is the one who uses Facebook and Twitter to relentlessly shove music down people’s throats. Twitter and Facebook are where music writers go to get away from the e-mails. If you want your friends to see your music, great. But tagging your blogger of choice in your video or song is so annoying that some (see: me) will never write about your music solely out of spite. Twitter is the same. Look at Twitter like after-work happy hour. You wouldn’t want to bring your resume to happy hour to show your boss. You want to show up, create a rapport and network, so when you want a promotion, your boss will remember your face. Twitter works the same way. Talk to the bloggers. Reply to them. Be clever. So when you do send the e-mail, they’ll remember your name and give your music a shot.

Sept. 22, Wednesday F. Jones Corner - Jason Bailey (blues lunch) free Fire - Saving Abel, We Are The Fallen, Taddy Porter (rock) 9 p.m. 18+ Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Singer/ Songwriter Night 8 p.m. free Fenian’s - Cary Hudson (roots) 9 p.m. Underground 119 - Virgil Brawley (blues rock) 8 p.m. Shucker’s - PFC 7:30-11:30 p.m. free Parker House - Chris Derrick & Electric Co. Burgers & Blues - Jesse “Guitar� Smith 6-10 p.m. Mardi Gras - DJ Durdy 6-9 p.m. $5 Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. facebook.com/snazzband2 Philip’s, Rez - DJ/Karaoke 7-10 p.m. free

Sept. 23, Thursday F. Jones Corner - Jesse “Guitar� Smith (blues lunch) free; Amazin’ Lazy Boi & Sunset Challenge Blues Band 11:30-4 a.m. Old Capitol Inn (inside)- Downtown at Dusk: Coop D’Belle (music/ food) 5-8 p.m. free Hal & Mal’s Big Room - Purse Strings 930 Blues Cafe - Jackie Bell, Norman Clark & Smoke Stack Lightning 9 p.m. $5 Fenian’s - Harmed Bros. 9 p.m. Dreamz - Time to Move Band (R&B) 9:30-11 p.m. timetomoveband.com Underground 119 - Swing de Paris (gypsy jazz) 8 p.m. Electric Cowboy - DJ Cadillac (country/dance/rock) 9 p.m. Parker House - Delta Mountain Boys (bluegrass) 7-10 p.m. Shucker’s - Rhythm Masters 7:3011 p.m. free McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Regency Hotel - Karaoke 8:30 p.m. Philip’s, Rez - Bubba & His Guitar 6-9 p.m. free

Sept. 24, Friday F. Jones Corner - Jesse “Guitar� Smith (blues lunch) free; Miss. Sound w/Jackie Bell (blues) 11:30-4 a.m. $10 Lumpkin’s BBQ - Virgil Brawley (blues lunch) 11:30-1:30 p.m. Hal & Mal’s Red Room - Dax Riggs 9 p.m. $12 Underground 119 - King Edward (blues) 9-1 a.m. Fire - Splendid Chaos (rock) 10 p.m. Ole Tavern - Big Rock Candy Mountain (prog) 9 p.m. $5 bigrockcandymountain.net 930 Blues Cafe - Dr. Dee 9:30 p.m. $10 Dick & Jane’s - Show Night/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Fenian’s - Juvenators (blues rock) 9 p.m. Farish St. - Miss. Greek Week Block Jam 7-12 a.m. Kristo’s - Scott Albert Johnson 7-10 p.m.

This page is dedicated to the memory of music listings editor Herman Snell who passed away Sept. 19, 2010. Burgers & Blues - Whit & Wynters w/Fingers Taylor 7-11 p.m. McB’s - Greenfish Irish Frog - Reed Smith 6:30-10 p.m. Electric Cowboy - Hip Kitty 9 p.m. Soulshine, Old Fannin - Larry Brewer (classic rock) 7-10 p.m. Dreamz Jxn - Miss. Greek Week Party 9-3 a.m. Time Out - The Start Up 9 p.m. $5 myspace.com/thestartup The Pub, Ridgeland - Danger Room (rock) 8-12 a.m. Reed Pierce’s - Snazz 9-1 a.m. free RJ Barrel’s, Canton - Gena Stringer & David Steele Ameristar, V’burg - Party Planet Whistle Stop, Hazlehurst - Natalie Long & Clinton Kirby 8 p.m.

Sept. 25, Saturday Farmer’s Market - Virgil Brawley (blues) 10 a.m.-noon Hal & Mal’s Big Room - Ingram Hill 9 p.m. $10 Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Wampus Cats 9 p.m. Martin’s - American Aquarium, Furrows (roots) 10 p.m. myspace. com/americanaquarium Jamie Fowler Boyll Park, Lakeland - Wells Fest: Wells Revue w/Bob Gates (Gospel) 10:30 a.m.; Shadz of Grey (classic rock) 11:15 a.m.; Barry Leach Group (jazz) 12 p.m.; Los Papis (Latin) 12:45 p.m.; Jean Pates, Steve Chester & Virgil Brawley (blues rock) 1:30 p.m.; Taylor Hildebrand 2:15 p.m.; Chris Gill Band 3 p.m.; Nathaniel Smith & Jimmy Jarrett (jazz) 3:45 p.m.; Scott Albert Johnson & friends (blues juke) 4:30 p.m. wellsfest.com Underground 119 - Scott Albert Johnson w/E Company(blues juke) 9-1 a.m. Poet’s II - Chasing Scarlett F. Jones Corner - Miss. Sound w/Jackie Bell (blues) 11:30-4 a.m. $10 930 Blues Cafe - Dr. Dee 9:30 p.m. $10 Fenian’s - Mike & Marty (party rock) 9 p.m. Dick & Jane’s - House Party/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 McB’s - Buie, Hamman & Porter Electric Cowboy - Hip Kitty 9 p.m. Regency Hotel - Faze 4 - 8:30 p.m. Shucker’s - Fearless Four 3-7 p.m. free Irish Frog - Danny Arwine & Nick Blake 6:30-10 p.m. Philip’s, Rez - Sic Transit 6-10 p.m. free Petra Cafe, Clinton - Karaoke 8 p.m. Reed Pierce’s - Fade 2 Blue 9-1 a.m. free Footloose - Pieces of Time (classic rock) 9 p.m. Downtown Hazlehurst - Rock’n Rail Road Fest: Sunny Ridell, Remynders,+ 2 p.m. free Whistle Stop, Hazlehurst - M.O.S.S. 6-9 p.m.; Sunny Riddell 9:30 p.m.

9/22 The Hold Steady - Lyric, Oxford 9/23 Jamey Johnson - Lyric, Oxford 9/24 Merle Haggard - Beau Rivage, Biloxi 9/25 Neil Young - IP Casino, Biloxi 9/25-27 B.B. King -B.B. King Blues Club, Memphis 9/30 Black Crowes - Mud Island, Memphis; 10/01 Beau Rivage, Biloxi

Gaddis Park, Forest - Wing Dang Doodle Fest: Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Eden Brent 10 a.m. forestareachamber.com Ameristar, V’burg - Party Planet

Sept. 26, Sunday King Edward Hotel - Howard Jones Jazz (brunch) 11-2 p.m. Fitzgerald’s - Andy Hardwick (brunch) 11-2 p.m. Sophia’s, Fairview Inn - Knight Bruce 11 a.m. (brunch) Burgers & Blues - Bubba Wingfield 5-9 p.m. Philip’s, Rez - Fingers Taylor & Mark Whittington 5:30-9:30 p.m. free Shucker’s - Will & Linda 3-7 p.m. free

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Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Central Miss. Blues Society Jam 8-11 p.m. $5 F. Jones Corner - Stevie J (blues lunch) free Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 8-12 a.m. free Martin’s - Open Mic Free Jam 10 p.m. free Fenian’s - Karaoke 8-1 a.m. Irish Frog - Open Mic 6:30-10 p.m.

aLL sHows 10pm unLess noted

BEER BUCKET SPECIAL

FRI.

BRIAN JONES

WEDNESDAY

9:30PM - NO COVER

SAT.

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Sept. 27, Monday

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

& KARAOKE

MON.

IN-DA-BIZ

BEER

& DRINK

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Sept. 29, Wednesday F. Jones Corner - Jesse “Guitar� Smith (blues lunch) free Fire - Switchfoot (rock) 9 p.m. 18+ Burgers & Blues - Jesse “Guitar� Smith 6-10 p.m. Shucker’s - DoubleShotz 7:30-11:30 p.m. free Underground 119 - Bill & Temperance (bluegrass) 8 p.m. Parker House - Scott Albert Johnson (blues juke) 6:30-9 p.m. Fenian’s - Bob Ray 9 p.m. Pelican Cove - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 7-10 p.m. Irish Frog - Ralph Miller 6:30-10 p.m. Mardi Gras - DJ Durdy 6-9 p.m. $5 Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. facebook.com/snazzband2 Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer (classic rock) 6:30-9:30 p.m. Philip’s, Rez - DJ/Karaoke 7-10 p.m. free

ladies night

LADIES PAY $5, DRINK FREE StARtINg At 10Pm FRIDAY

9/24

SATURDAY

9/25

the church keys AMERICAN AQUARIUM

Sept. 28, Tuesday F. Jones Corner - Amazing Lazy Boi (blues lunch) free Parker House - Taylor Hildebrand (Tall Grass Beer Dinner) Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Pub Quiz 8 p.m. $2 Fenian’s - Open Mic 9 p.m. Welty Commons - Open Mic Poetry 6:30 p.m. Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 8-12 a.m. Martin’s - Karaoke 10 p.m. free Shucker’s - The Xtremez 7:30-11:30 p.m. free Time Out - Open Mic 8 p.m. McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free

9/22

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w/ FURROWS

SUNDAY

9/26

MONDAY

9/27

TUESDAY

9/28

KaraoKe

OPEN MIC JAM MATT’S LATE NIGHT KARAOKE

$2 MARGARITAS $1 HIGHLIFE & PBR WEDNESDAY

9/29

ladies night

LADIES PAY $5, DRINK FREE StARtINg At 10Pm 214 S. State St. • 601.354.9712 downtown jackson www.martinSlounge.net

jacksonfreepress.com

livemusic

37

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September 22 - 28, 2010

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38

venuelist 88 Keys 3645 Hwy. 80 W in Metrocenter, Jackson, 601-352-7342 930 Blues Cafe 930 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601-948-3344 Alamo Theatre 333 N. Farish St, Jackson, 601-352-3365 Alley Cats 165 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-855-2225 Alumni House Sports Grill 574 Hwy. 50, Ridgeland, 601-855-2225 America Legion Post 1 3900 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-605-9903 Ameristar Casino, Bottleneck Blues Bar 4146 Washington St., Vicksburg, 800-700-7770 Beau Rivage Casino 875 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 800-566-7469 Belhaven College Center for the Arts 835 Riverside Dr, Jackson, 601-968-5930 Bennie’s Boom Boom Room 142 Front St., Hattiesburg, 601-408-6040 Borrello’s 1306 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-638-0169 Buffalo Wild Wings 808 Lake Harbour Dr., Ridgeland, 601-856-0789 Burgers and Blues 1060 E. County Line Rd., Ridgeland, 601-899-0038 Capri-Pix Theatre 3021 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-9606 Central City Complex 609 Woodrow Wilson Dr., Jackson, 601-352-9075 Cerami’s 5417 Highway 25, Flowood, 601-919-2829 Char Restaurant 4500 I-55, Highland Village, Jackson, 601-956-9562 Cherokee Inn 1410 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-362-6388 Club 43 Hwy 43, Canton, 601-654-3419, 601-859-0512 Club City Lights 200 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-0059 Club O’Hara 364 Monticello St., Hazlehurst, 601-894-5674 Club Total 342 N. Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-714-5992 Congress Street Bar & Grill 120 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601-968-0857 The Commons Gallery 719 N. Congress St., 601-352-3399 Couples Entertainment Center 4511 Byrd Drive, Jackson, 601-923-9977 Crawdad Hole 1150 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-982-9299 Crickett’s Lounge 4370 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-0500 Crossroads Bar & Lounge 3040 Livingston Rd., Jackson, 601-984-3755 (blues) Cultural Expressions 147 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-665-0815 (neosoul/hip-hop) Cups in Fondren 2757 Old Canton Road, Jackson, 601-362-7422 (acoustic/pop) Cups in the Quarter 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-981-9088 Davidson’s Corner Market 108 W. Center St., Canton, 601-855-2268 (pop/rock) Debo’s 180 Raymond Road, Jackson, 601-346-8283 Diamond Jack’s Casino 3990 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 1-877-711-0677 Dick & Jane’s 206 Capitol St., Jackson, 601-944-0123 (dance/alternative) Dixie Diamond 1306 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6297 Dollar Bills Dance Saloon 103 A Street, Meridian, 601-693-5300 Dreamz 426 West Capitol Street, Jackson, 601-979-3994 Edison Walthall Hotel 225 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-948-6161 Electric Cowboy 6107 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-899-5333 (country/ rock/dance) Executive Place 2440 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-987-4014 F. Jones Corner 303 N. Farish St. 601983-1148 Fenian’s 901 E. Fortification Street, Jackson, 601-948-0055 (rock/Irish/folk) Fire 209 Commerce St., Jackson, 601592-1000 (rock/dance/dj) Final Destination 5428 Robinson Rd. Ext., Jackson, (pop/rock/blues) Fitzgerald’s Martini Bar 1001 E. County Line Road, Jackson, 601-957-2800 Flood’s Bar and Grill 2460 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-713-4094

Footloose Bar and Grill 4661 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9944 Freelon’s Bar And Groove 440 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-5357 (hip-hop) Fusion Coffeehouse Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-6001 Gold Strike Casino 1010 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, 888-245-7529 Grand Casino Biloxi 280 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, 228-436-2946 Grand Casino Tunica 13615 Old Highway 61 North, Robinsonville, 800-39-GRAND The Green Room 444 Bounds St., Jackson, 601-713-3444 Ground Zero Blues Club 0 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, 662-621-9009 Grownfolks’s Lounge 4030 Medgar Evers Blvd, Jackson, 601-362-6008 Hal & Mal’s 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson, 601-948-0888 (pop/rock/blues) Hamp’s Place 3028 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-981-4110 (dance/dj) Hard Rock Biloxi 777 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 228-374-ROCK Hat & Cane 1115 E. McDowell Rd., Jackson, 601-352-0411 HautÊ Pig 1856 Main St., Madison, 601853-8538 Here We Go Again 3002 Terry Road, Jackson, 601-373-1520 Horizon Casino Mulberry Lounge 1310 Mulberry St., Vicksburg, 800-843-2343 Horseshoe Bar 5049 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-6191 Horseshoe Casino Tunica, 800-303-7463 The Hunt Club 1525 Ellis Ave., Jackson, 601-944-1150 Huntington Grille 1001 E. County Line Rd., Jackson, 601-957-1515 The Ice House 515 S. Railroad Blvd., McComb, 601-684-0285 (pop/rock) The Irish Frog 5o7 Springridge Rd., Clinton, 601-448-4185 JC’s 425 North Mart Plaza, Jackson, 601-362-3108 James Meredith Lounge 217 Griffith St. 601-969-3222 Julep Restaurant and Bar 105 Highland Village, Jackson, 601-362-1411 Kathryn’s Steaks and Seafood 6800 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland. 601-956-2803 Koinonia Coffee House 136 S. Adam St., Suite C, Jackson, 601-960-3008 Kristos 971 Madison Ave., Madison, 601-605-2266 LaRae’s 210 Parcel Dr., Jackson, 601-944-0660 Last Call Sports Grill 1428 Old Square Road, Jackson, 601-713-2700 The Library Bar & Grill 120 S. 11th St., Oxford, 662-234-1411 The Loft 1306 A. Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-629-6188 The Lyric Oxford 1006 Van Buren Ave., Oxford. 662-234-5333 Main Event Sports Bar & Grill 4659 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9987 Manda’s Pub 614 Clay Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6607 Martin’s Lounge 214 S. State St., Jackson, 601-354-9712 (rock/jam/blues) McB’s Restaurant 815 Lake Harbor Dr., Ridgeland, 601-956-8362 (pop/rock) Mellow Mushroom 275 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood, 601-992-7499 Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music 103 Magnolia, Edwards, 601-977-7736 Mississippi Coliseum 1207 Mississippi St., Jackson, 601-353-0603 Mississippi Opera P.O. Box 1551, Jackson, 877-MSOPERA, 601-960-2300 Mississippi Opry 2420 Old Brandon Rd., Brandon, 601-331-6672 Mississippi Symphony Orchestra 201 East Pascagoula St., Jackson, 800-898-5050 Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 2531 N. State St., Jackson, 601-354-6021 Monte’s Steak and Seafood 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-8182 Mugshots 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-713-0383 North Midtown Arts Center 121 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-497-7454 Okasions 1766 Ellis Avenue, Jackson, 601-373-4037 Old Venice Pizza Co. 1428 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-366-6872

Ole Tavern on George Street 416 George St., Jackson, 601-960-2700 Olga’s 4760 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-1366 (piano) One to One Studio 121 Millsaps Ave., in the Millsaps Arts District, Jackson One Blue Wall 2906 N State St., Jackson, 601-713-1224 Peaches Restaurant 327 N. Farish St., Jackson, 601-354-9267 Pelican Cove 3999A Harborwalk Dr., Ridgeland, 601-605-1865 Pig Ear Saloon 160 Weisenberger Rd., Gluckstadt, 601-898-8090 Pig Willies 1416 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-634-6872 Poet’s II 1855 Lakeland Dr., 601- 364-9411 Pool Hall 3716 I-55 North Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-713-2708 Pop’s Saloon 2636 Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-961-4747 (country) Proud Larry’s 211 S. Lamar Blvd., Oxford, 662-236-0050 The Pub Hwy. 51, Ridgeland, 601-898-2225 The Quarter Bistro & Piano Bar 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-4900 Que Sera Sera 2801 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-2520 Red Room 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson (Hal & Mal’s), 601-948-0888 (rock/alt.) Reed Pierce’s 6791 Siwell Rd., Byram, 601-376-0777, 601-376-4677 Regency Hotel Restaurant & Bar 420 Greymont Ave., Jackson, 601-969-2141 Rick’s Cafe 318 Hwy 82 East, #B, Starkville, 662-324-7425 RJ Barrel 111 N. Union 601-667-3518 Sal and Mookie’s 565 Taylor St. 601368-1919 Sam’s Lounge 5035 I-55 N. Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-983-2526 Sam’s Town Casino 1477 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, 800-456-0711 Schimmel’s Fine Dining 2615 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-7077 Scrooge’s 5829 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-206-1211 Shuckers on the Reservoir 116 Conestoga Rd., Ridgeland, 601-853-0105 Silver Star Casino Hwy. 16 West, Choctaw, 800-557-0711 Soop’s The Ultimate 1205 Country Club Dr., Jackson, 601-922-1402 (blues) Soulshine Pizza 1139 Old Fannin Rd., Brandon, 601-919-2000 Soulshine Pizza 1111 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-8646 Sportsman’s Lodge 1220 E. Northside Dr. at I-55, Jackson, 601-366-5441 Stone Pony Oyster Bar 116 Commercial Parkway, Canton, 601-859-0801 Super Chikan’s Place 235 Yazoo Ave., Clarksdale, 662-627-7008 Thalia Mara Hall 255 E. Pascagoula St., Jackson, 601-960-1535 Thirsty Hippo 211 Main St., Hattiesburg, 601-583-9188 Time Out Sports Bar 6270 Old Canton Rd., 601-978-1839 Top Notch Sports Bar 109 Culley Dr., Jackson, 601- 362-0706 Touch Night Club 105 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-969-1110 Two Rivers Restaurant 1537 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-859-9979 (blues) Two Sisters Kitchen 707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180 Two Stick 1107 Jackson Ave., Oxford, 662-236-6639 Under the Boardwalk 2560 Terry Rd., Jackson, 601-371-7332 Underground 119 119 S. President St. 601352-2322 VB’s Premier Sports Bar 1060 County Line Rd., Ridgland, 601-572-3989 VFW Post 9832 4610 Sunray Drive, Jackson, 601-982-9925 Vicksburg Convention Center 1600 Mulberry Street, Vicksburg, 866-822-6338 Walker’s Drive-In 3016 N. State St., Jackson, 601-982-2633 (jazz/pop/folk) The Warehouse 9347 Hwy 18 West, Jackson, 601-502-8580 (pop/rock) Wired Expresso Cafe 115 N. State St. 601-500-7800

Good and Friendly HOLLY PERKINS

Where did the name come from? My brother Jim is the owner—he and his wife, Jane. Bon Ami means “good friend,” and he wanted something that would be a good name, a friendly name. Bon Ami is French (for “good friend”), and he kind of wanted the restaurant to have a French feel (because) we do a lot of New Orleans-type cuisine. When did you start in the food industry? I’ve been in business with my brother ... since 1997. I started many years ago taking a lot of classes at a little place out on Terry Road called Decorator’s Delight. The first thing I started doing was mostly wedding cakes. Then my brother started his catering business, so I started working with him doing his desserts and things like that. I just love to cook.

W

hen I was 10, my mother was matron-of-honor in a wedding. I remember it vividly and would love to say the thing I remember most was seeing her beautiful dress, but I’d be lying. What I remember most was the food, catered by Bon Ami. I had just started a whole-wheat diet, and my preteen taste buds would cry every time I ate a piece of cardboard-like whole-wheat bread. I finally accepted that carbs couldn’t taste good. Bon Ami proved me wrong with one bite of whole-wheat crawfish penne. I’ve been to fabulous parties and had some enjoyable experiences with caterers since, but Bon Ami still holds a special place in my heart. A family-owned restaurant, Bon Ami, off Interstate 55 in the Maywood Mart, has been open at its current location since 2000. Mississippi native and Pearl resident Paula Vaughn, Bon Ami’s catering coordinator, is the woman behind the deliciousness.

What’s your favorite thing to cook? I love cooking desserts, but I’m well rounded. I can cook anything, and we pretty much can do anything. One of the things from catering that we’ve brought into the restaurant that everyone seems to love is my shrimp and grits. I also love cooking seafood; I think gumbo is one of my favorite things. What’s been the most interesting request you’ve received for an event? I guess (at) one of the biggest weddings we did grilled oysters on the half-shell. What do you think the most important things a couple should ask their caterer? We usually sit down with (a couple) and find out what their likes and dislikes are … get to know them a little bit … get a feel of them. I think just sitting down with them and knowing the things they like and don’t like is really important.

Are the catering items based on the Bon Ami menu, or are they created custom for an event? I don’t always base it off of the restaurant. … One time we had a young man that loved crawfish, so we did the rehearsal dinner with boiled crawfish and homemade ice cream. I think I made about fifteen freezers full of homemade ice cream and we boiled probably about 200 pounds of crawfish. It just kind of depends on what they like, and we try to implement it the best that we can. Why do you think food is such an important part of an event? Here at the restaurant, we feel that food can be a healing process. People come in and order something, and they enjoy it, and they just sit down and have a good atmosphere. So when we have a big event … it just makes it a good fellowship. What do you love about catering? Actually cooking the food I love cooking. I love the end product; I love that people enjoy what I cook. I do some wedding cakes. I’ve done some pretty fantastic wedding cakes. I’m not bragging on myself—well, I guess I am—but I had some that have been in Mississippi Magazine. My favorite wedding cake that I’ve ever done was a fresh pear cake with a cream cheese (icing) with orange liqueur and Grand Marnier. That’s a recipe I came up with and created, and I loved doing it. I have also done a Vera Wang-designed cake. Just paying attention to the detail … on a cake and seeing the end product is great for me. Contact Paula Vaughn at Bon Ami (1220 E. Northside Drive, Suite 230, Maywood Mart) by calling 601-982-0405, or by e-mailing her at bonamijackson@gmail.com.

STORYCOOK FAVORITES INC.

Nibbles after the Nuptials Wedding guests arrive and take their seats. They chatter quietly as the flower girl and ring bearer come down the isle. They “ooh” and “aah” about the bride’s dress. They chuckle when one of the couple screws up on repeating the vows. A few might even cry. But when the preacher says, “You may kiss the bride,” the couple and their entourage are forgotten. It’s time for the reception. For those of you that have had the privilege of planning a wedding reception—and I say “privilege” with great sarcasm—you know that one of the deciding factors in the reception menu is what pleases men. It is all about compromise. We’ve got our man dressed, seated on a

CHICKEN MARSALA

by Holly Perkins

by Terri Cowart

pew (other than on a Sunday), and we fantasize that romance is warming his heart. Get real! He is thinking of the reception food. That’s what’s really warming his heart. And let’s face it, if the food does not satisfy, you will be hard pressed to convince him to ever do a repeat performance. My 23-year-old daughter, Leah, and her fiancé, Joseph Ivey, 26, got married June 26. She put her soon-to-be hubby to work even before they married. Invited to a wedding and reception with the same caterer she would be using, his mission was to decide what food he wanted at his reception. It was an easy task for Joseph:

Beef filet on peppery edible spoons makes for manly reception fare.

mac and cheese bites and steak bites. What a no brainer: meat and potatoes. But don’t be disheartened, ladies. Storycook at the B’nai Brith Club made a man’s favorite look beautiful and elegant. Owner Story Stamm Ebersole served steak bites on an edible spoon. How cool is that? No dripping on the cocktail

8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 1/2 cup chopped green onions 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms 2/3 cup Marsala wine 2/3 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup milk Salt and pepper to taste 1 package of angel hair pasta

Sauté chicken in a large skillet for 15 to 20 minutes. Add green onions and mushrooms, and sauté until soft, then add Marsala wine and bring to a boil. Cook about two to three minutes, season with salt and pepper, and then add cream and milk. Let simmer for about six to eight minutes until heated through. Serve over cooked angel hair pasta, prepared according to the package.

BLACK-EYE PEA SALAD 2 (15 ounce) cans black-eye peas, drained 1 large tomato, chopped 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 1 medium green pepper, chopped 1/2 red onion chopped 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

Toss together black-eye peas, tomato, red and green bell peppers, red onion and parsley. In small mixing bowl, mix redwine vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss into the vegetables, and cover and chill for four hours or overnight For wedding receptions, Vaughn loves a southern theme with grilled chicken tenders, black-eye pea salad, potato salad, stuffed eggs, pasta salad and fresh fruit with fresh baked breads.

dress. I also have to say that Ebersole’s delicate bite-size take on macaroni and cheese was delish. She has this magic way of compressing the noodles and cheese together and then frying them ever so lightly. Everybody was happy. In Vicksburg, Gary Thomas, co-owner of Riverside Food Service, made life easy for my dauther Anna, 27, and her fiancé Derek, 29, on Aug. 28. He knows what a man likes, and, to be honest, women can’t turn down his absolutely fresh and piping hot catfish, either. Thomas quietly and inconspicuously pulled his outdoor cooker to our venue. He and his crew proceeded to produce fried catfish that literally melted in our mouths. If word gets out about Thomas’ cooking, there won’t be nearly as

much arm-twisting going on. This summer was exciting for me. I had two daughters marry within six weeks of one another. Yeah, my husband didn’t have a choice about attending, but I worked with some fine caterers and lovely in-laws. I am relieved this summer is behind me, and I certainly would never want a repeat performance. But in the end I was happy, my girls were happy, and my man was happy. Contact Story Stamm Ebersole at Storycook at the B’nai Brith Club (721 Clay St., Vicksburg, 601-636-0008) Contact Gary Thomas and Rhonda Wright of Riverside Food Service/Goldie’s Express of Vicksburg at 601-218-3313 or 601636-2551.

jacksonfreepress.com

dining

39

Early Bird Specials

CASUAL GREEK DINING

Live Music on Friday Night September 24th scott Albert Johnson October 1st shaun Patterson

Tuesday-Thursday 5:00 - 6:30

$9.95

A Metro-Area Tradition Since 1977

Lunch: Fri. & Sun. | 11am-2pm Dinner: Tues. -Sat. & Sun. | 5pm-9pm

601-919-2829 5417 Lakeland Drive ~ Flowood, MS 39232

Cozy Bar Inside, Covered Patio Outside

TAKE- OU T AVAIL ABLE

971 Madison Ave. in Madison 601.605.2266 | Open 7 Days a Week

w w w. k r i s t o s o f m a d i s o n . c o m

PO BOYS • RED BEANS & RICE PASTA • BURGERS

Come watch Monday Night Football on our new atscreen TV! $2 Domestic Beers/$3 Wells Game Day Appetizer Specials

- Plenty of Parking -

BREAKFAST • LUNCH • FUNKY ART + 0O<O@ 0OM@@O '<>FNJI ,K@I 1P@N 0<O <H KH

120 N Congress St. Jackson 601-968-0857 Mon -Thurs 11am - 9pm | Fri 11am - 2pm

Telephone:

601-665-4952

For the sizzling taste of real hickory smoke barbeque -

NEW WEEKEND

HOURS

THIS IS THE PLACE!

10a-Midnight Friday & Saturday

B.B.Q., Blues, Beer Beef and Pork Ribs

Sunday 11a-5p

Lunch & Dinner:

Tuesday - Thursday 11am - 8pm Friday & Saturday 11am - 10pm

4654 McWillie Dr., Jackson|Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 10AM-9PM Friday & Saturday 10AM-12AM, Sunday 11AM-5PM

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

%*/&+BDLTPO Paid listyour yourrestaurant.r restaurant.r Paid advertising advertising section. section. Call Call 601-362-6121 601-362-6121 x11 x1 totolist

Bars, puBs & Burgers

Congress Street Bar and Grill (120 N. Congress Street, Downtown, 601-968-0857) With a New Orleans–themed menu, night-time appetizers and a neighborhood bar atmosphere, Congress Street Bar and Grill is a spot to go to for a taste of the Big Easy. Cool Al’s (4654 McWillie, 601-713-3020) A standard in Best of Jackson, Al’s stacked, messy, decadent, creative burgers defy adjectives. Or try pineapple chicken, smoked sausage...or the nationally recognized veggie burger. Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches and beers such as Guinness and Harp on tap. Free live music most nights; Irish/Celtic bands on Thursdays. Stamps Superburgers (1801 Dalton Street 601-352-4555) Huge burgers will keep you full until the next day! The homestyle fries are always fresh, cut by hand using white potatoes with traditional, lemon pepper, seasoning salt or Cajun seasoning. Hal and Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or each day’s blackboard special. Repeat winner of Best of Jackson’s “Best Place for Live Music.â€? Last Call (3716 I-55 N. Frontage Road 601-713-2700) Burgers, sandwiches and po-boys, plus sports-bar appetizers and specialities. Try chili cheese fries, chicken nachos or the shrimp & pork eggrolls. Pay-per-view sporting events, live bands. Martin’s Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers (jalapeno poppers, cheezsticks, fried pickles) or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, massive beer selection and live music most nights. The Regency (400 Greymont Ave. 601-969-2141) Reasonably priced buffet Monday through Friday featuring all your favorites. Daily happy hour, live bands and regular specials. Time Out Sports CafĂŠ (6720 Old Canton Road 601-978-1839) 14 TVs, 1 projector and two big-screens. Daily $9 lunch specials, pub-style appetizers, burgers, seafood and catfish po-boys, salads, and hot entrees including fish, steak and pasta. Ole Tavern on George Street (416 George St. 601-960-2700) Pub food with a southern flair: beer-battered onion rings, chicken & sausage gumbo, salads, sandwiches and weekly lunch specials. Plus, happy hour 4-7pm Monday through Friday. Poets Two (1855 Lakeland Drive, Suite H-10, 601-364-9411) Pub fare at its finest. Crabcake minis, fried dills, wings, poppers, ultimate fries, sandwiches, poboys, pasta entrees and steak. The signature burgers come in bison, kobe, beef or turkey! Sportsman’s Lodge (1120 E Northside Dr. in Maywood Mart) 601-366-5441 Voted Best Sports Bar in 2010, Sportman’s doesn’t disappoint with plenty of gut-pleasing sandwiches, and fried seafood baskets. Try the award-winning wings in Buffalo, Thai or Jerk sauces! Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Jumbo lump crabcakes, crab quesadillas, beef tenderloin parfaits, orange-garlic shrimp, even “lollipopâ€? lamb chops. Add a full bar and mix in great music. Opens 4 p.m.-until, Wed-Sat.

ItalIan BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Wood-fired pizzas, vegetarian fare, plus creative pastas, beef, and seafood specials. Wonderful atmosphere and service. Bravo! walks away with tons of Best of Jackson awards every year. Cerami’s (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298) Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami (white wine sauce, capers artichokes) along with veal, tilapia, crawfish, chicken and pasta dishes. Now with liquor license! Fratesi’s (910 Lake Harbour, Ridgeland, 601-956-2929) “Authentic, homey, unpretentious� that’s how the regulars describe Fratesi’s, a staple in Jackson for years, offering great Italian favorites with loving care. The tiramisu is a must-have!

September 22 - 28, 2010

Bakery

40

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!

Best Butts In Town!

since 1980

601-956-7079

1491 Canton Mart Rd. • Jackson

Broad Street Bakery (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) NEW MENU! Hot breakfast,coffee espresso drinks, fresh breads and pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches, quiches, soups, pizzas, pastas and dessert. A “see and be seen� Jackson institution! Campbell’s Bakery (3013 N State Street 601-362-4628) Now serving lunch! Cookies, cakes and cupcakes are accompanied by good coffee and a fullcooked Southern breakfast on weekdays in this charming bakery in Fondren. For Heaven’s Cakes (4950 Old Canton Road 601-991-2253) Cakes and cupcakes for all occasions including weddings, parties, catered events. Owner Dani Mitchell Turk was features on the Food Network’s ultimate recipe showdown.

Paid advertising section.

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Crazy Cat Bakers (Highland Village Suite #173 601-362-7448) Amazing sandwiches: Meatloaf Panini, Mediterranean Vegetarian, Rotisserie Chicken to gourmet pimento cheese. Outlandish desserts. Now open for dinner Wednesday through Friday. Primos Cafe (2323 Lakeland 601-936-3398/ 515 Lake Harbour 601-898-3400) A Jackson institution featuring a full breakfast (with grits and biscuits), blue-plate specials, catfish, burgers, prime rib, oysters, po-boys and wraps. Save room for something from their famous bakery!

Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

BAKERS

NOW OPEN FOR DINNER

ASIAN STIX (109 Marketplace Lane off Lakeland Dr Flowood 601-420-4058) Enjoy the quick-handed, knife-wielding chefs at the flaming teppanyaki grill; artful presentations of sushi; the pungent seasonings and spicy flavors of regional Chinese cuisines. Nagoya (6351 I-55 North #131 @ Target Shopping Ctr. 601-977-8881) Nagoya gets high marks for its delicious-and-affordable sushi offerings, tasty lunch specials and high-flying hibachi room with satisfying flavors for the whole family. Ichiban (153 Ridge Drive, Ste 105F 601-919-0097 & 359 Ridgeway 601-919-8879) Voted “Best Chinese” in 2010, cuisine styles at Ichiban actually range from Chinese to Japanese, including hibachi, sushi made fresh with seafood, and a crowd-pleasing buffet.

SoutherN cuISINe Mimi’s Family and Friends (3139 North State Street, Fondren) 601-366-6111 Funky local art decorates this new offering in Fondren, where the cheese grits, red beans & rice, pork tacos and pimento cheese are signature offerings. Breakfast and lunch, new days are Tuesday-Sunday. Sugar’s Place (168 W Griffith St 601-352-2364) Hot breakfast and week-day lunch: catfish, pantrout, fried chicken wings, blue plates, red beans & rice, pork chops, chicken & dumplings, burgers, po-boys...does your grandma cook like this? Located downtown near MC Law School. Zydeco Restaurant and Bar (6340 Ridgewood Rd. 601-977-9920) Louisiana favorites such as gumbo, oysters, fried green tomatoes, po-boys and muffalettas. Steaks, seafood and jambalaya for dinner. Beignets, omelets and seafood for Sunday brunch!

Jackson

Byram

1801 Dalton Street (601) 352-4555 Fax: (601) 352-4510

5752 Terry Road (601) 373-7299 Fax: (601) 373-7349

Tuesday Night is

DATE NIGHT 2 for 1 Spaghetti

LOCATED IN HIGHLAND VILLAGE Mon-Tues Wed-Fri 10AM-6PM 10AM-8PM 601.362.7448 • CRAZYCATBAKERS.COM

FULL LUNCH $9.00 with tax

Entree, 2 Sides, Bread & Beverage Down Home Cooking Downtown 168 W. Griffith St. • Sterling Towers Across from MC School of Law

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

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

SteAk, SeAfood & fINe dINING Rocky’s (1046 Warrington Road, Vicksburg 601-634-0100) Enjoy choice steaks, fresh seafood, great salads, hearty sandwiches and much more in the “polished casual” dining room. Open 24/7 in the Riverwalk Casino. Parker House (104 South East Madison Drive, Ridgeland 601-856-0043) European and Creole take on traditional Southern ingredients in Olde Town Ridgeland. Crawfish, oysters, crab and steaks dominate, with creative option like Crab Mac ‘n Cheese, Oysters Rockefeller and Duck Jezebel. Or enjoy lighter fare (and a plate lunch special) during lunch hours!

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Mexica

bian B & Colum

PIzzA Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) Pizzas of all kinds, munchies, calzones, grilled hoagies, salads and more make up the extensive and “eclectic” menu at Mellow Mushroom. Award-winning beer selection. Dine in or carry out. The Pizza Shack (1220 N State St. 601-352-2001) 2010’s winner of Best Pizza is perfect pizza-and-a-beer joint. Creative options abound (“Cajun Joe, anyone?”), along with sandwiches, wings, salads and BBQ. Great beer specials! Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant parmesan and the local favorite: fried ravioli. Voted Best Chef, Best Dessert, Best Kid’s Menu and Best Ice Cream in the 2010 Best of Jackson.

2003-2010, Best of Jackson

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1290 E County Line Rd (next to Northpark Mall) Ridgeland, MS 39157 | 601-983-1253

King Tortas International Deli (1290 E. County Line Rd, Ridgeland, 601-983-1253) Columbian and Mexican bakery and taqueria; try the fried plantains! Fuego Mexican Cantina (318 South State Street,601-592-1000) Next to Club Fire in downtown.Nachos, fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, chimichangas, combo plates—even veggie options—are offered right alongside the margarita pitchers you expect.

VeGetArIAN High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch options at Jackson’s own strict vegetarian (and very-vegan-friendly) restaurant. Daily lunch specials -- like Mexican day and the seaside cakes on Fridays -- push the envelope on creative and healthy; wonderful desserts!

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41

BY MATT JONES

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Albert Einstein was extremely famous during his lifetime. Although he had no publicity machine promoting him, his face became an iconic symbol for genius. Einstein was, in effect, a brand name that made people think of creativity, wisdom and imagination. There were times that bothered him. “I am no Einstein,” he said, preferring to be his raw self rather than the idol on a pedestal. I offer his example up to you, Libra. You can benefit from slipping away from, ignoring and even rebelling against your image right now. Return to the source of your ever-evolving life energy.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

My proposed assignment for you would be fun, but it wouldn’t be easy. It would require you to dissolve at least one of your fixations, escape at least two of your habits, and override at least three of your dogmatic beliefs. I’ll completely understand if you’re not up for the challenge. But if you’re game, read the following excerpt of a poem by Pablo Neruda (translated by Alastair Reid), and incorporate its attitude into your daily rhythm. “I have a mind to confuse things, unite them, make them new-born, mix them up, undress them, until all light in the world has the oneness of the ocean, a generous, vast wholeness, a crackling, living fragrance.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

I love to listen to DJ Schmeejay on San Francisco radio station KUSF. Like a throwback to the Golden Age of FM radio in the 1970s, he plays a “visceral, cinematic” mix that delights you with a flow of unpredictable juxtapositions. Unlike some music experts who harbor haughty elitist prejudices, the dude is an open-minded aficionado. His playlist may include a psychedelic tune, flapper-jazz, a pretty pop song, a barbershop quartet, 1960s folk, polka and trip-hop. He understands that good entertainment keeps you guessing about what’s going to come next. I urge you to borrow his approach as you cruise and schmooze in the coming weeks. Charm people with good surprises. Expand your bag of tricks, and use everything in it.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

I’m not a big believer in the idea that dreams are prophetic. I’ve recorded thousands of my own dreams, and just three of them have foreshadowed waking life events that actually occurred. However, I have often found it valuable to regard my dreams as pointers on how to develop unripe aspects of myself. For example, when I was 19, I had a series of dreams suggesting that the best way to become a writer was simply to write at least three hours every day. I acted on those prompts, and they worked. I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because it’s prime time for you to tap into your own dreams for tips on how to create your best possible future.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

In his opening comments on an episode of his TV show, Stephen Colbert announced, “I have butterflies in my stomach. I just ate a cocoon quesadilla.” If I’m reading the omens correctly, you, too, will soon have fluttering sensations in your gut, but not because of your food choices. Rather, you’re likely to be quivery and atwitter due to encounters with the Great Unknown—arrivals from beyond the Wild Blue Yonder that will blow your mind and recalibrate your philosophy of life. Don’t worry. Your appointments with the numinous are likely to be stirring, even awe-inspiring, but not frightening. P.S. You should celebrate the fact that you feel free enough to go exploring so far and wide.

September 22 - 28, 2010

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

42

“If we wish to outline an architecture that conforms to the structure of our soul,” Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “it would have to be conceived in the image of the labyrinth.” I take this to mean that clarity, assuredness and single-mindedness are luxuries the ego may indulge in, but they are not the natural state of our deepest selves. Rather, at our cores, in the essential primal source that sustains us, we are complicated and meandering … mysterious and exploratory … curious and questioning. In other words, it’s perfectly healthy to be in a labyrinthine state of mind. I hope this meditation helps you enjoy your upcoming Season of Soul.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Rightwing talk show host Rush Limbaugh is a person whose ideas and attitudes repel me. But in the dream I

had last night, I enjoyed hanging out with him. He was affable and humorous. We had several fun adventures together. Here’s how I interpret the dream: It doesn’t necessarily mean that Limbaugh is a better human being than my bias allows me to imagine. Rather, I think I’m becoming more relaxed about people I disagree with. I’m less susceptible to being motivated by hatred. I’m able to maintain a live-and-let-live approach to things that used to knock me off center. You’re now set up for a similar shift, Aries. I hope you take advantage.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

You have entered a phase in your astrological cycle when your best lessons will come from doing hard work. I mean that in the most literal way: intensifying your commitment to doing your job with maximum integrity and intelligence and excellence. But I also mean that you should concentrate on what needs fixing, refinement and upkeep in other areas of your life. Could your best relationships use some tweaks that would pump up the collaborative energy? Would you consider making a course correction in your spiritual path? Is there any part of your rhythm that could use more discipline and organization?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

I’m getting excited to see what you’ll create in the coming weeks. You’re slipping into the most expressive groove you’ve been in for a while. I’m guessing that any minute now your imagination will start churning out a wealth of fresh perspectives and new approaches. Half-rotting problems that have just sat there immobile for weeks or even months will begin morphing into opportunities as you zap them with your frisky grace. Misunderstandings that have festered far too long will get cleansed and salved by your tricky ingenuity. Get the party started!

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

As I stood by the creek at dusk, the silhouette of a woman in a kayak came flowing my way. The last crease of the orange sun hovered on the horizon behind her. I spied the reflection of the planet Venus shimmering in the violet water before I saw it in the sky. The temperature was balmy. A translucent spider floated nearby at the end of an airborne silk strand. Nine geese in v-formation trumpeted as they soared overhead. When the woman got close enough for us to see each other’s faces, she addressed me. “We win!” she exclaimed jubilantly, then paddled onward. I agreed. We were basking in a great victory, paradise having temporarily descended into our midst. This is the kind of triumph I expect you’ll be capable of achieving several times over in the coming week.

“The Damage Is Done”–a body of work in body work. Across

1 “Australia” director Luhrmann 4 Sidearm outlaws pack 10 ___ Sutra 14 Tahiti, par exemple 15 “Ad astra per ___” 16 Mine, in Marseilles 17 Injury from Fluffy, perhaps 19 Below average 20 Jacob’s biblical twin 21 During every season 23 Word after acting or stink 26 Dog’s master 27 Tiebreaker rds. 30 Least based in reality 35 “Do or do not--there is no ___” 36 Pop-Tarts flavor released in the 2000s 39 ___ ex machina 40 Sky blue 41 Unlikely to bite 44 1961 album showing Sinatra straightening his tie 47 Online outburst 49 It may include a five-point harness 50 Scrappy-___ 51 Ankle bones 53 With “off,” British swearer’s phrase

55 “I’ve got nothing else to say” 60 Al Kut’s country 64 Dog food once hawked by Ed McMahon 65 Two-Face’s alter ego, in the “Batman” series 68 One of 52 69 Cuban dance: var. 70 Half of half of half of octo71 Bum 72 Not goofing around 73 High school assembly goal

Down

1 Bo who lost to Carrie Underwood on “American Idol” 2 “___, poor Yorick!” 3 Greek letter 4 “___-Man Fever” (1980s hit) 5 Haifa’s nat. 6 Perform part of a Bob Barker wish 7 Henri’s head 8 Killer whale 9 Bert who played the Cowardly Lion 10 Hard-hitting noise 11 Invoice phrase 12 Someone who’s the butt of many pranks 13 Use a clothespin, perhaps 18 Classroom replacement

22 “Portnoy’s Complaint” author Philip 24 Mystery craft 25 Classic arcade game with tractor beams 27 Cleaner’s condition 28 Most common word in English 29 Rationalizing from the inept 31 Early Hollywood agent Swifty 32 1990s dating show 33 Spookily weird 34 Opera subdivisions 37 CBS show with Eric Szmanda 38 “___ be an honor” 42 Letters on the 6 43 Ass’s asset? 45 “___: Los Angeles” (LL Cool J show) 46 Classic muscle car 47 Capital about 300 miles from New York City 48 He never finished his Tenth Symphony 52 Fuel the fire 54 Performed 56 “Comin’ ___ the Rye” 57 Jessica in a 1980s scandal 58 Stuck in ___ 59 Rating for “The Sopranos” 61 Enlist for another tour 62 Photographer Geddes 63 Head cleaner of sorts 66 “This is only a test” gp. 67 Talk and talk and talk and talk ©2010 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com. For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #0479.

Last Week’s Answers

BY MATT JONES

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Focus on what’s small and slippery, Leo. Turn your gaze away from what’s big and obvious. Exult in the salamander on the rock and a friend who has a new trick and the guilty pleasure you just discovered; excuse yourself from obsessing about the state of the economy, the meaning of life and the clash between science and religion. Your pleasurable duty is to love what’s in the midst of changing and not fixate on trying to make arrangements that will supposedly last forever. Don’t just grudgingly attend to the mercurial details; dive in as if playing with them were your central purpose.

Last Week’s Answers

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

“Artists suffer for their work, but they don’t mind,” read the headline in the San Francisco Chronicle. The attached article featured brief interviews with five artists who all said they enjoy doing their creative work so much that they gladly put up with the privations it causes them. That’s the spirit I’d like you to embrace in the coming weeks, Virgo. See if you can immerse yourself in a labor of love with so much enthusiastic devotion that you drive away some of your aches and anxieties.

Confess, brag and expostulate about what inspires you to love. Go to Freewillastrology.com and click “Email Rob.”

“Kakuro”

Fill in each square in this grid with a digit from 1 to 9. The sum of the digits in each row or column will be the little number given just to the left of or just above that row or column. As with a Sudoku, you canít repeat any digits in a row or column. See the row of four squares in the upper-left with a 28 to the left of it? That means the sum of the digits in those four squares will be 28, and they won’t repeat any digits. A row or column ends at a black square, so the three-square row in the upper-right with a 10 to the left of it may or may not have digits in common with the 28-row to its left; theyíre considered different rows because thereís a black square between them. Down columns work the same way. Now solve!!

sports

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24 High school football, Jackson Academy at Jackson Prep (7 p.m., Flowood, Fox Sports South, 930 AM): The Raiders and Patriots collide in the latest installment of one of the MAIS’ most heated rivalries. … Callaway at Provine (7:30 p.m., Hughes Field, Jackson): The Chargers and Rams meet in an old-school JPS rivalry. SATURDAY, SEPT. 25 College football, Mississippi Valley State at Jackson State (6 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Jackson, 95.5 FM): The only suspense surrounding this game is whether Tiger fans will remember to wear their official game-day shirts. … Georgia at Mississippi State (6 p.m., Starkville, Fox Sports South, 105.9 FM): Two reeling teams meet in an SEC dogfight. … Fresno State at Ole Miss (6:30 p.m., Oxford, CSS, 97.3 FM): Speaking of reeling, the Rebels are facing an unbeaten pack of Bulldogs from California. SUNDAY, SEPT. 26 NFL football, Atlanta at New Orleans (noon, Ch. 40, 620 AM): Expect nastiness when the Saints play host to their nemesis, the Dirty Birds. … New York Jets at Miami (7 p.m., Ch. 3): The big-mouth Jets (backed by all their retired fans who now live in Florida) face the unbeaten Dolphins. MONDAY, SEPT. 27 NFL football, Green Bay at Chicago (7:30 p.m., ESPN): The unbeaten Packers and Bears battle for first place in the NFC’s black-and-blue division (aka the NFC North). TUESDAY, SEPT. 28 Major League baseball, Florida at Atlanta (6 p.m., SportSouth, 620 AM): The Braves badly need to squish the fish if they’re going to keep up with the Phillies in the NL East. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29 Major League baseball, Florida at Atlanta (3:30 p.m., SportSouth, 620 AM): The Marlins and Braves meet for the final time this season in a midweek matinee. The Slate is compiled by Doctor S, who has suffered a tofu overdose from eating in the JFP Tower cafeteria. Find the good stuff on JFP Sports at www.jacksonfreepress.com.

A

s a former history major and a sports guy, I found the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, with its many exhibits and stories about the past, a fascinating place to hang out. During my recent—and first—tour of the hall, Executive Director Michael Rubenstein showed me some of its best pieces. And naturally, the stories at the Wall of Memories drew my attention. One of the pieces Rubenstein pointed out was a candy wrapper, which turned out to be one of the first-ever athlete endorsements. Mississippian W.E. Bucky Moore from McComb was a football star at Loyola University New Orleans. It was there that he led the 1926 team to an undefeated season; they lead the nation with 355 points and held opponents to only 20 points. Nicknamed the Dixie Flyer, Moore broke all of football great Red Grange’s records with 1,331 yards and 89 points in 1926. He was so popular, Elmer’s Candy Company named a candy bar after him: Dixie’s Best. Throughout the hall are interactive kiosks where a visitor can watch video highlights and interviews of Mississippi’s greatest athletes from nearly every sport, like Walter Payton. If you are a fan of memorabilia, check out the early 20th century wool baseball uniforms. The Hall of Fame also features a collection of Dizzy Dean memorabilia. Dean’s late wife, Pat Dean, donated the items that include his 1934 World Series and Hall of Fame rings. But the display that really caught my attention is immediately as you walk in the door. This exhibit tells the story of the 1955 Jones County Junior College Bobcats football team. Jones finished the 1955 regular season undefeated and hoped to get an invite to play in the Junior Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The year before, another Mississippi junior college team—Hinds—had played in the same game and defeated El Camino Junior College. JCJC received a bid to play the Compton Junior College Tartars with much hoopla and fanfare. Then-Lt. Gov. Carroll Gartin, a Jones alum, said he would travel to Pasadena as the school’s number-one fan. But everything changed for Jones when officials discovered that Compton had black starting players. At that time, no Mississippi college or university had played an integrated team in any sport, and there was an unwritten rule barring teams from doing so. Media around the state put pressure on the Bobcats not to play the Tartars. In a front-page editorial, Major Fredrick Sullens, editor of the Jackson Daily News, called for the Mississippi Legislature to deny funds to Jones from the biennial junior college appropriations if they accepted the bid. Even the school’s band was affected, and the Covington County Board of Supervisors withdrew its support. The Chamber of Commerce of Pomona,

Enjoy a

)"11*&3

)"11: )063 During Happy Hours

Tues. - Thurs. 3-7pm

HALF-OFF

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame includes this display of Dizzy Dean’s pitching motion.

Calif., stepped in and sent the band a check for $250 for travel expenses. Instead of well wishes for a national championship, Jones was hit with a parting shot by Sullens. He wrote: “A defeat will not cause mourning in our home state. The decision to play against Negroes is the most unfortunate thing to happen since the infamous Supreme Court ruling. Nothing but avarice and coldblooded greed for a share of the gate receipts could have promoted such action.” Jones was not out to make a political statement or upset the status quo. The Bobcats only wanted to play for a national championship and to decide, on the field, which team was the best. The press spoke with Bobcat co-captains Kenneth Schultze and Paul Hathcock at the time. “As long as the rules of junior colleges say that Negroes can play, we’re gonna play ’em,” Schultze said. “Each Negro is just another ball player, and we are not worried about who is on the team.” “It’s an honor to play in the Junior Rose Bowl,” Hathcock added. “I have no objections whatever to playing a team that has Negroes on it.” Jones lost to Compton 22-13 that December night in front of 57,000 spectators in a clean-played game that featured no personal fouls or racial bitterness. In Mississippi, the sky did not fall, and the sun came out the next day. Eight years later, in 1963, the Mississippi State University Bulldogs sneaked out of state under cover of darkness to play Loyola University Chicago in the NCAA basketball tournament. The Bulldogs had won the SEC for the third year in a row but had declined to go to the tournament the first two years. While MSU decided to hide from controversy and sneak out to do what was right— even with 85 to 87 percent of the student body in favor of going—Jones faced criticism head on and played for a title anyway. The Bobcats did not win a national title, but the team did show far more intestinal fortitude then its peers of the same time period.

-Domestic Bottles - Well Drinks - House Wines

46..&3 0/-:

Regular Happy Hour Monday & Friday 4-7pm

WEDNESDAY 9/22

Cary Hudson

(Alternative Country)

THURSDAY 9/23

Harmed Brothers (Folk Rock, Americana)

FRIDAY 9/24

The Juvenators (Blues)

SATURDAY 9/25

Mike & Marty (Southern Rock)

SUNDAY 9/26

Kitchen 11am-10pm Bar 11am-Midnight MONDAY 9/27

Karaoke w/ Matt TUESDAY 9/28

Open Mic

jacksonfreepress.com

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23 Junior college football, Mississippi Delta at Hinds (7 p.m., Raymond): The Eagles hope to bounce back from their first loss when they play host to the Trojans for homecoming.

The Night the Sky Didn’t Fall COURTESY OF MISSISSIPPI SPORTS HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM

Doctor S sez: Things are bad for Ole Miss. They’re about to get worse.

by Bryan Flynn

43

read more Body&Soul stories and the blog at jacksonfreepress.com

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44

Apply Now! Classes begin Sept. 27, 2010 penny.carter@hindscc.edu, 601.376.4844 or 601.936.5507 Funding for this project was made available through the Office of the National Coordinator, Department of Health and Human Services, award number 90CC0078/01 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Public Law 111-5: Information Technology Professionals in Health Care: Community College Consortia to Educate Information Technology Professionals in Health Care. Hinds Community College offers equal education and employment opportunities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability or veteran status in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Dr. George Barnes, Vice President for Administrative and Student Services, 34175 Hwy. 18, Utica, MS 39175; 601.885.7001.

M

y Dad called me “Slim.� As a high school senior, I was 5 foot, 5 inches, and 118 pounds. Years passed, and after birthing and breast-feeding two wonderful sons, my once-maidenly body waved goodbye. More years passed, and after a total hysterectomy, I became Rubenesque. At some point, I threw caution to the wind, jumped into sauces, large portions and anything fried, and became fat. I’m big-boned (yeah, we all say it), and I will never be little again. But what are my reasons for allowing the “fat�’ to take over my life? Was I rebelling against my unfeminine childhood nickname? Or was I using food to numb pain, fill emotional voids or avoid intimacy? Is it all or none of the above? Who knows? What I do know is that my wide, flowing shirts and loose-fitting garments could not hide the wonderfully globe-shaped midriff I’d earned because of my reckless relationship with food. High liver enzyme counts interrupted the relationship. My conversation with my doctor went something like this: Me: “I’m frustrated. What do I need to do differently?� Doctor: “Well, it might help if you had input from a nutritionist.� Me: (laughing) “Unless you float me a loan, I can’t afford a nutritionist. What’s the next best thing?� Doctor: “Do you know anything about Weight Watchers? It’s a nutritionally sound approach to eating. You might want to check them out.� I began to inquire. A lady that worked with me went to WW at her lunch break once a week. I rode with her to WW for a visit. She advised that I choose the lightest weight garment to wear every week for weigh-ins to avoid factoring in different clothing weights. On that first visit, I paid my fee and stood in line with lots of other people to step on the scales. I was nervous. The truth didn’t lie. I acknowledged the bulk of me and was relieved that only the WW counselor and I saw the truth. She noted my weight in my records. The WW counselor suggested my initial goal be to lose 10 percent of my body weight. After reaching that goal, I chose my optimum weight goal and achieved that. WW quickly taught me the importance of record keeping, in terms of weekly weight changes and daily food intake. All foods have a

point count per serving. Based on my weight, I was assigned a point intake maximum and minimum per day for losing weight. Short weekly meetings added meal and food prep ideas and motivation. Though I started out confused, I followed the program, got results and began to trust it. At first, I dreaded the record keeping. I panicked, fearing I would consume the point count allotted to me early in the day and have to starve the rest of the day. Then I realized it was a lifeline: I was beginning a long process of learning to gain control over my life, as it related to food. A new WW signee relaxed when she found out the program allowed her a glass of white wine every evening. With that, she said, she could go forward. I could eat any food, just as long as I did so in a way that confined my intake to the day’s assigned point level—even hamburgers. A small regular burger on a bun with lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard, ketchup (no mayo), with a green salad and light dressing instead of fries, added up to approximately eight points out of my 25-28 point allotment for the day. This could work. Also, the list of zero-point foods was manna. I could pan-roast broccoli, squash, cherry tomatoes and red peppers—all zero points—in a tablespoon of olive oil, serve them on a small mound of whole wheat spaghetti and only consume approximately six points. And I was full. I began to think differently. Approximately 30 pounds later, my enzyme counts are normal. A friend said: “Jackie, you’ve got to get rid of that jacket. It’s way too big for you.� I tossed the jacket. It was a step toward beginning to re-inhabit my body and love it again. I learned that a war with food isn’t the answer. I learned that I have to consistently be aware and make wise choices about diet and exercise. There’s no applause and no living happily ever after. It’s a change in my everyday decisions and routines: I must choose between roasted or fried, fresh vegetables or junk food, dancing or chips and TV. This is forever. Confucius said, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.� I’m still getting up.

Hints • Eliminate sweet tea from your diet. • Stir fruits into low-fat whipped topping for dessert. • Make friends with nuts—no, not the human kind. Eat a few almonds (e.g., six to eight) between meals to squelch hunger and supply protein. • Take a good multi-vitamin. • Drink lots of water. • Cut portions. Eat a little. Talk a lot. Let full come to you.

Increase Your Intuition Workshop Saturday September 25th 1 PM -4 PM

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The purple ribbon is a symbol of domestic violence awareness and prevention. Please wear a touch of purple to show your support for the cause.

SUE ELSE

DONNA LADD

JANE PHILO

The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence

for Peace

invites you to attend

Purple

Public schools do more than educate children. They measure a city’s pride. They reflect community. They predict the social and economic well-being of a city’s future. For 20 years, Parents for Public Schools of Jackson has worked to keep our public schools strong, to empower parents as leaders for positive change, and to engage community support of our public schools.

Join us. For our city. For our children. For our future.

October 1, 2010 | 11:30 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. | Hilton Jackson Hotel • Guest Speaker: Sue Else, President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) • Mistress of Ceremony: Donna Ladd, Editor in Chief, Jackson Free Press

• Musical Performance by Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex String Ensemble • “Paint the Town Purple” Raffle ($10 per raffle ticket)

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

$15 per ticket | RSVP by Sept. 20th | 601-981-9196

www.ppsjackson.org

jacksonfreepress.com

• Special “Purple Peace Prize” Presented to Mrs. Jane Philo, renowned advocate

45

Set Do-Able Goals

natural grocery

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR BODY NEEDS?

My main goal on the Road to Wellness has been to turn trips to the gym into a habit, instead of a chore. That’s tough for a guy who has never prided himself on willpower. I do it three ways. First, I tell myself that every trip to the gym can last as long (or as short) as it needs to. Most of the time I get in 45 to 60 minutes on the elliptical, my cardio of choice, even if I didn’t feel like I’d spend that much time when I’m on my way in the gym. But if 30 minutes is all I feel like doing, I’ll stop. Something is better than nothing, and lowering the bar just a bit makes it easier to get to the gym. Second, I’ve convinced myself I don’t have to go every day—but I should “earn” the days I don’t go by getting there the next day. If the Saints play on “Monday Night Football,” that means I can skip an after-work session, but only if I double-down the commitment to make it on a Tuesday. That keeps me on track for at least three sessions a week, and usually four—which is pretty good considering I wasn’t going at all a few months back, right? Third, I recommend prepping for the next gym session right after your last one. For me, that means refilling my water bottle and sticking it in the fridge, making sure my headphones go right back in my gym bag (I’ve got a special $2 set just for the gym) and locating a clean towel. That way, when the next gym day comes around, I’m ready to change shoes, walk out the door and get on with it—without finding an easy excuse for putting it off. —Todd Stauffer

I Did It (Sort Of…) They say if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. For me, if I remember to do something three times, it’s a miracle. I’m proud of myself because within a two-week period, I remembered to spend a few minutes outside to soak in some sun. I didn’t always stay outside for 15 minutes since it has still been unseasonably warm, but I did feel rejuvenated each time I took a moment to do so. Now, if I can just do it every day, I’ll be on to something. —Latasha Willis

September 22 - 28, 2010

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Bumps in the Road My Road to Wellness started uphill but positive and has taken a nosedive into procrastination, health issues and sweets. What the heck happened, and how did it all happen at once? I’m not exactly sure, but what I do know is that it’s time to pick up the pace once more. Wii Fit—I want to use it when I’m at home, of course. And when I’m home, my

husband is at home. Not a big deal, you might think, but it has become one. See, the TV is in the living room. To get through the house, you walk through the living room. So when I’m trying to balance on that little board and focus, I can’t have someone trying to get past me. Workouts don’t have pause buttons, but that’s what I need to use Wii Fit. Bah. I’m sure there’s a solution that doesn’t involve kicking the hubby out during my workout but I haven’t found it, yet. Sweets. Who keeps bringing donuts and cakes into this office? I can turn down a lot of sweets, but the darn tasty ones we have around here are impossible for me to ignore completely. At least I do portion control when I eat these things, but I shouldn’t even be nibbling on them. I’ve neither lost nor gained any weight so that’s something, I guess. Water—OK, I’m doing pretty well here. I’m probably more hydrated right now than I’ve been in a long time. Include my sudden decrease in coffee consumption, and I’m like an aquababy on the inside. Less screen time, more book time—I’m not reading any more than I was. I am, however, sitting at the computer less. More socializing has been great. This weekend I attended Rock Band night at a friend’s house, a TweetUp, the Roller Derby, the circus and made new characters for an upcoming D&D game. I also played too much DragonQuest IX. Health issues in general—Eeeeh. Maybe it’s age, but what the heck? I have this mysterious, recurring eye issue that has yet to be diagnosed by the three doctors I’ve seen. At least they agreed on the treatment for the symptoms: disgusting steroid eye drops that do the job with brute force. Also my blood pressure has slowly been creeping up. I need a suggestion for a general practitioner I can see in the South Jackson area. It may be time for bloodpressure medication. —Kristin Brenemen

Time to Recommit I have allowed myself to become a victim to a couple of common phenomena: I messed up, so screw it; and I overcommitted, so I’m not doing anything. On the first one, I find it incredibly easy to beat myself up when I don’t live up to my own expectations (sound familiar?). And once I’ve pegged myself a loser, there’s simply no point in carrying on. How’s that working for me, you ask? Not very well. Point two is about over-committing. I find it very difficult to say no, especially when the person asking is me. But as someone with more wisdom than me once said, “If you don’t believe God has a sense of humor, tell her your plans.” I’ve had a long history of making big plans and not following through. Next steps for me: First, make some new, realistic goals; second, recommit to reaching them. Wish me luck. —Ronni Mott

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- Lisa

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