Jackson Free Press

MAMA, KENNY SAID HE'S GONNA SLAP ME: About time you think that Kenneth Stokes has calmed the hell down, someone goes and sets him off again. Even though we can see why anybody would want to slap the maddening Ben Allen now and then, shame on Stokes. That said, we don't think Stokes gets a fair rap in the city, or at least in Northeast Jackson and the suburbs and the daily paper, but threatening to pop anyone in front of cameras seems so, well, caveman. Also amazing, Allen suddenly announced for the cameras that a man sitting in the front row—Leon Horne, apparently a Council gadfly and Brown supporter—had allegedly threatened his life if didn't support Brown's promotion. Huh?

We're still puzzled why there is even debate over whether the vice president of the Council should take over the president's gig while he's off at war. Our answer: Duh. We think Bo Brown is getting screwed on this one. Council voted Jan. 12 for McLemore for prez. … IT'S A NEW YEAR: Leveling-off crime stats and strong community-policing efforts seem to be calming down crime hysteria a bit. Fondren neighborhood activist Belmont Trapp even chided the media for not giving the police a chance in a year-end piece she wrote in a local community weekly—ironically a paper that fanned the hysterical flames with incomplete data in 2003. She wisely called for Jacksonians to not allow political forces to turn them against the police. ... CEASING FIRE: At JPD's Jan. 7 weekly COMSTAT meeting, Sgt. Preston Carter reported that Operation Ceasefire—a local/state/federal collaboration to take guns from convicted felons—had seized a total of 851 firearms (481 automatic weapons, 259 revolvers, 50 rifles and 61 shotguns) since the program started last June. Due to liberal gun-control laws, the only people police can seize guns from are convicted felons, meaning that yet-to-be felons 18 and older have free access to weapons. ... CHILL, MAN, CHILL: You'd think with all the crime rhetoric of late that we'd be the most stressed city in America. But it ain't so: A new city-rankings study (yes, another one) by Sperling's finds that Jackson is the No. 66th most stressful mid-sized city in the U.S. The deadhead-infested Boulder, Colo., is even more uptight. Galveston is the most stressed in our category; Provo, Utah, the least. The "Sperling Stress Index" looks at nine stress factors: unemployment rate, divorce rate, commute time, violent and property crime rates, suicide rate, alcohol consumption, self-reported "poor mental health" and number of cloudy days. Maybe we just don't know we're crazy. See http://www.bestplaces.net … HIDDEN PRIDE:Even though it expends much ink trying to tell readers how scary Jackson is, we found that The Clarion-Ledger actually brags about the city on Gannett's corporate Web site. "Money magazine recognized Jackson as the 19th most liveable Southern mid-sized city out of 44 ranked," the paper's corporate summary reads. It also reports that 100,708 Real Mississippians read the paper daily and 114,771 on Sunday. That's statewide (population 2,871,782), should you care. There are 428,700 folks in metro Jackson alone, should you care. … SHRINKING AUDIENCE: Americans are increasingly choosing alternatives to daily newspapers and TV newscasts for their news, reports a new study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Especially people under 30. They're relying more and more on non-traditional news sources including the Internet (yes, blogs) and TV comedy shows like "The Daily Show" and "Saturday Night Live" that, yes, make fun of the insufficiency of traditional media. The report states: "Where people turn for campaign information makes a big difference in what they know about the [presidential] campaign. People who use the Internet, those who listen to National Public Radio, and readers of news magazines are the most knowledgeable about the campaign." The report also found that the folks most paranoid about media "bias" are those who watch FOX News regularly. There's a surprise. ... CRAPPY STORY LEAD AWARD: From The Clarion-Ledger, Dec. 21, 2003: "Knives are the weapons of choice this year for Jackson students, mostly middle-schoolers, who are coming armed to class, data from the school district show." Does that mean all middle-schoolers are armed? Most middle-schoolers? How about a handful? One could have led that story saying that data from JPS showed that of 31,539 total students in 59 schools, only 10 of which are middle-schools, the district only seized 27 weapons in the entire school year. That included only two guns, 19 knives (13 from middle-schoolers), two razor blades and one set of brass knuckles, as the story says several paragraphs lower. One of the guns was a BB gun. Of course, that wouldn't have made public schools sound as scary. ... DOWNTOWN HOUSING NOW: The city and Parkway Properties are planning a big announcement for the day we publish. We're sure hoping it involves a big-ass, creative bloc of downtown housing. Parkway President Steve Rogers says they will announce a new name for SkyTel Centre (that does sound awful early 1990s, no?), and Mayor Johnson will talk about downtown development, which is happening even as the Scrooges glare and pretend it's not. The announcement is Thursday, Jan. 15, at 10 a.m. at 200 South Lamar should you read this in time. ... BRICK, ANYONE? Jackson State is holding a grand opening for its new pedestrian walkway that will contain tributes to the HBCU's historical past. The shindig is Saturday. Jan. 24, at 2 p.m. with a reception following. Call 979-2282 to adopt a brick. … REMEMBERING DR. KING: Remember that the city's most heartfelt parade happens Saturday, Jan. 17, starting at Freedom Corner (intersection of Medgar Evers Blvd./Hwy. 49 and Martin Luther King Drive. Call 960-1090. SINGING PRAISES: You can lift your voices in praise to Dr. King (or listen as others do) at the "Red, Yellow, Black & White" unity concert on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 4 p.m. Hear more than 100 musicians coming together at Cade Chapel Mississippi Baptist Church, 1000 West Ridgeway Street in Jackson. 366-KIND. Yes, you can wear a hat. See BlackMississippi.com for a list of other MLK events. ... BIG-ASS PARADE NEWS 2: Malcolm White has announced that his 22nd Annual Mal's St. Paddy's Parade & Festival will have the hopeful theme, "SURVIVOR: Downtown Jackson," and feature Mississippi native and "Survivor" (as in the reality TV show) survivor Darrah Johnson. White writes in an e-mail, "Darrah survived 37 days in a wet cocktail dress with little or no food on an island off the coast of Panama, so we figure she's fit to lead a few thousand merrymakers, trombone players and Sweet Potato Queens down Capital Street on the 20th day of March, 2004." A point he has. CONGRATS: Speaking of White, he is winner of the 2004 Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts for best arts patron in the state. He joins Mary Katharine Loyacono McCravey (Lifetime Achievement), James "Super Chikan" Johnson (Artistic Excellence), the Greenville Arts Council (Arts in the Community) and the Rankin County School District (Arts in Education). The 16th annual public ceremony will be held 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, in the House Chamber of the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson. ... SIGNS OF LIFE: Be sure to visit Flashbacks, the new video/DVD/coffee shop at 1808 North State, across from Millsaps, that specializes in actual art and indie films, especially releases from Criterion and Kino. Watch the Lounge List for free screenings. Call 352-3939. Also, don't miss Jane Martin's "Talking With" performances at The Artery, 3220 N. State Jan. 22-24 and 29-31. Seven first-time directors are working with 11 actresses, including the JFP's own JoAnne Prichard Morris, on character monologues. Sip coffee in a cabaret-style setting and listen to a bunch of Southern women do what they love to do. Call 982-2217.
– Staff reports