[Publisher's Note] LeFleur Lakes Barreling Toward the Falls

by Todd Stauffer February 28, 2007 The results are in from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study of the LeFleur Lakes project, and, according to a report in The Clarion-Ledger, the Corps says it isn�t economically feasible. Estimating a price tag of $1.2 billion�which is a figure quite north of the Lakes� developer $200 million-$300 million estimates�the Corps doesn�t recommend federal involvement.

[Collier] There�s More to the Story

by Natalie A. Collier February 28, 2007 It�s done now. Elementary school teachers, if they haven�t already, are taking down the laminated posters of Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. Black History Month is over�time to make room for shamrocks and leprechauns. Television networks have aired all the projects and documentaries reserved just for this month, and it�s back to normal programming, as usual. You know, the stuff everyone actually wants to watch.

[Stiggers] Everything Must Go

by Ken Stiggers February 28, 2007 Big Head Fred: �During Black History Month, the corporate world has thrived on your impulsive buying habits. In spite of your overworked and underpaid status, they depend on you to spend your time on spending your hard-earned salary or tax-refund check on things that clutter up your home. I must admit, however, that I, too, need your money. I�m a small businessperson, with bills to pay.

[Letters] No. 23, February 21 - 28

The Phantom Flip-Flopper It happened again.

[Editor's Note] In a Sentimental Mood

by Donna Ladd Februry 21, 2007 It�s Tuesday, and I�m sitting cross-legged on the floor in Baltimore�s Southwest terminal after spending several days in Washington at an alternative-newspaper training conference. I love these gatherings: I teach, I learn, I build relationships�especially with the younger editors and writers who are the future of the news industry. Those guys seldom ask �why?!?� in a discussion about how to best use the Internet to communicate and interact with readers;...

[Gregory] You Call That Music?

by Lori Gregory February 21, 2007 My friends often make smart-ass comments about my taste in music. I write this sentence as Babs wails �Moon River� in the background, and my cats look at me distastefully while hiding their tiny heads under their paws. For the past five years, I�ve been happier listening to oldies and standards than being concerned with the newest hot stuff that is playing on the radio. In fact, I probably couldn�t even tell you the name of the new hot song that is...

[Stiggers] Watching You Watch Us

by Ken Stiggers February 21, 2007 Kunta �Rahsheed X� Toby: �Welcome to �Why Aggravate a Brother?� It�s Ghetto Science Television�s new reality series about racial profiling. This episode is sponsored by the law offices of Cootie McBride, Aunt Tee Tee Hustle�s Mending the Digital Divide Project, Nurse Tootie McBride Wound Center for Violent Beat Downs and bail bondsman Scooter D.

[Kamikaze] The New Independents

by Kamikaze February 21, 2007 We�ve come to yet another music issue, and that means as in years past, it�s time for my annual state of the music address. It seems I�ve become the �mad rapper� for all my political ramblings and such, but the music is my passion. It is the music that I think makes most folks in the private sector even give me the time of day. It is the music that�s given me a platform to voice my opinions in this very publication.

[Editor's Note] All for One

by Brian Johnson February 14, 2007 There were some quiet days in Jackson while Mayor Frank Melton was recovering from surgery in Texas. I was in City Council covering the debate on digital billboards two weeks ago, and we journalists blinked at each other like it was the first day of spring. We could almost imagine what it would be like to cover government without Melton. Politicians will always argue and preen for the cameras, but in ordinary times, there are no states of emergency,...

[Head] Legislation Promotes Dangerous Abortions

by Tom Head February 14, 2007 Last Wednesday, the Mississippi State Senate passed SB 2795. Promoted as a simple ban on abortion, the legislation actually takes a far more novel and dangerous approach. The right of a woman to terminate her own pregnancy is protected under section 2(3) of the legislation�establishing a right to abortion for the first time in Mississippi legislative history. The right of a woman to obtain drugs that will help her terminate her pregnancy is also protected...