JackBlog

House Speaker Gunn Calls (Again) to Change State Flag After Charlottesville Rally

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After several state officials weighed in on the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend, House Speaker Philip Gunn decided to weigh in on the situation on Monday afternoon. His first Facebook post, posted in the afternoon on August 14, condemned white supremacy and bigotry. “Bigotry, hatred and the promotion of racial superiority, like that of white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan, have no place in our society. I condemn, in the strongest sense possible, what occurred in Charlottesville. These are not the acts of true Americans. Continue Reading

JackBlog

Gov. Bryant Taps Another Supreme Court Justice to Lead Child Protection Services

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Gov. Phil Bryant tapped Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jess Dickinson to be the next commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services on Tuesday, leaving an open seat on the state’s highest court. The appointment comes on the heels of former Justice David Chandler announcing his retirement after leading the department for a little over a year. Bryant initially tapped Chandler to lead the newly created department in December 2015. Bryant went back to the court to find Chandler’s replacement. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said Dickinson would be missed on the high court in a statement. Continue Reading

animals

Ronnie the Rhino Passes Away

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On Friday, Aug. 4, the Jackson Zoo announced that its almost-45-year-old rhino, Ronnie, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 2. “He was a very special animal to work with, and keepers found him very easy to care for,” Animal Care Supervisor Willie Bennett said in a press release. “The past few years had seen a major increase in his needs as he got into his 40s (the median age of a white or wide-lipped rhino is 34 years). Continue Reading

JackBlog

Rainbow Community Day

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On Friday, Aug. 4, Rainbow Natural Grocery Cooperative announced in a press release that on Sunday, Aug. 6, the co-op will host a Rainbow Community Day. Here is the release verbatim:

The Rainbow Warriors, a volunteer group of supporters of Rainbow Natural Grocery Cooperative today announced they are sponsoring a Rainbow Community Day this Sunday, August 6th from noon to 6:00 p.m. They are encouraging and inviting everyone in the community to shop big at Rainbow on Sunday. “Sundays are special at Rainbow. Continue Reading

JackBlog

JPS School Board Pushes Meeting Back a Week

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The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees, which is down to three members, pushed back its next meeting an additional week. The meeting, initially scheduled for next Tuesday, has been pushed to August 8 instead. The board is at a stand still, at least to approve consent-agenda items, because to vote, they need a quorum of members. A quorum for the JPS board is four. After Dr. Richard Lind left the school board last week, the JPS board does not have a quorum. Continue Reading

JackBlog

Yarber Offers Final PSA About ‘Illegal Content,’ Then Doesn’t Show to Lumumba Inauguration

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Outgoing Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber offered a final public service announcement Saturday night on his Facebook page. It said:

“PSA: before you jump in my inbox or on my page being jazzy like young E.S. Jamison did, be sure you’ve deleted all illegal content from your page. Cause I’m screen shooting and sending to the FEDS. Be sure you’re current on ya child support and have no active warrants. Be sure your HUD and DHS documents are legit. Continue Reading

JackBlog

Fake News: Mass Grave Of Dozens Of Tortured Black Men Found In Deceased KKK Leaders Estate

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A story titled “Mass Grave Of Dozens Of Tortured Black Men Found In Deceased KKK Leaders Estate” is currently trending on Facebook with more than 125,000 shares since Friday. The Inquisitr reports the story as false with several factors raising red flags as completely untrue and false. The fake news story, which reads:

“A Mass grave of torture victims has been uncovered in Jackson, Mississippi, FBI spokesman Adrian Cartwright said Thursday. “A Mass burial site of many dozens of black men, who had been subjected to brutal torture and [then] murdered, has been found,” Cartwright said. “In many cases, body parts are missing; most victims had been shot in the head.”

Cartwright said that the mass grave was uncovered when the current owner of the property was making extensive renovations to the house and needed to dig up the foundations. Continue Reading

JackBlog

Kemper County Plant Suspends Coal Operations, Continues Natural Gas Production

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This week the Mississippi Power Company notified the state’s Public Service Commission that they would suspend lignite coal gasification at the Kemper County plant. The news comes after years and billions of dollars worth of investment and construction followed by the perpetual delay of the new plant opening. Then the New York Times published a 2016 investigation, which documented the mismanagement of the project all along the way, including piles and piles of previously private documents. The Kemper County plant will continue to operate as a natural gas plant, but hopes for “clean coal,” which began during the Obama administration, are looking dismal. The Public Service Commission has asked the parties in the Kemper County Power Plant case to relicense the plant as a natural gas facility as well as ensure that Mississippians won’t see a rate increase due to the (for now) terminated coal portion of the plant. Continue Reading