Jackson Free Press

October 7, 2004

ROUND ONE TO THE PEOPLE: Thanks to a federal district judge, Attorney General Jim Hood and a determined grass-roots coalition, no Mississippians are losing their Medicaid benefits…yet. In response to the lawsuit we reported last issue, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate granted an injunction against Gov. Haley Barbour's plan to cut more than 50,000 from the state's Medicaid rolls as of last Friday. Then the judge on Monday signed an order restoring Medicaid coverage to 50,884 people who were getting bumped onto the federal Medicare dole and facing reduced prescription drug benefits. The judge ordered that they be fully restored by Oct. 15, handing a defeat to Barbour, but the order is temporary. Stay tuned for Round 2 as the Guv fights back.

WOULD THE REAL ‘LAWSUIT ABUSE' PLEASE STAND UP?: Remember how all those frivolous lawsuits brought by individual plaintiffs and trial attorneys nearly ruined Mississippi for businesses? Well, Public Citizen (http://www.citizen.org) has released a report that notes that businesses in Mississippi are six times more likely to sue in civil court than individuals: 45,891 cases brought by businesses in one year vs. 7,959 brought by individuals. And here's a surprise—around the nation, those insurance companies we all know and love so much lead the pack. Of course, those business lawsuits are probably really upstanding cases, not frivolous ones like we little irresponsible citizens like to file, right? Nope. According to the report, businesses are 69 percent more likely to be sanctioned by judges for bringing frivolous cases than are individuals.

VOTE FOR DIVERSITY: A diverse group of young folks, and older ones, showed up at the JFP/Collective Voter Rally registered tons, where tons registered to vote for the first time last Thursday night at Hal & Mals and Soulshine. Though the night began with tension as Jim Giles delivered a pro-white speech, it ended in positivity with panelists from various political persuasions getting along very well. (Older candidates should take note). Rapper Skip Coon even asked alt-country boys GoodmanCOUNTY to collaborate with him.

REPRESENT, GIRL (1): Millsaps senior Reshoo Pande has been representing Indians in Mississippi since this summer when she was crowned Miss India Mississippi. As of last week, she's now Miss India USA. She won first place in the national pageant in New Jersey and will compete in India later this year for Miss India Worldwide.

MOVIN' ON UP: George Elementary, a Title 1 school with mostly African-American students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, scored a Level 5 in school performance this past year. Last year, the school scored a Level 3. The U.S. Department of Education says that 5th grade teacher Sharon Turner is to thank for much of this increase in proficiency. Last year, all of her students scored a 100 percent proficiency in reading. Last week, Turner was named as a No Child Left Behind American Star of Teaching.

REPRESENT, GIRL (2): Speaking of good news, artist Lea Barton has some of her own. She's been selected to represent Mississippi in the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. through Nov. 30.

NO TEACHER LEFT BEHIND: Mayor Harvey Johnson announced that the First Time Home Buyer Down Payment Assistance Program's first recipients are Helen Persons and Mary Heard. The press conference was held in front of Persons Woodville Drive home at 2 p.m. on Sept. 27. The program was proposed by the Jackson Public School system and approved by the City Council this year. It is an effort to retain and recruit qualified teachers to stay in the city. A $6,000 down payment is offered to qualified teachers, and, if the teacher stays in JPS for five more years, they won't have to pay back the loan. The loan is available for 15 new teachers and 15 current full-time teachers who have been working at least since the 2003-2004 school year. For more information, contact Greg Kelly, JPS director of teacher recruitment, at 960-8744.

STOP MAKING SENSE: October is dedicated to serious stuff, according to ButlerWebs.com, like Adopt-A-Dog Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Disability Employment Awareness Month and Youth Against Tobacco Month. National Frappe Day is Oct. 7. Oct. 8 is World Egg Day, and Oct. 28 is Chocolate Day while the 30th is Candy Corn Day. And of course, Oct. 31 is Halloween and this year, since it's on a Sunday, the 31st is also the day when daylight savings ends. Naturally, the powers-that-be don't care one bit if little kids trick-or-treat in the dark. Would make too much sense to have daylight savings end the first Sunday in November, now wouldn't it?

Previous Comments

ID

168304

Comment

where tons registered to vote for the first time How many, total, registered to vote? If it is "tons", then you must be aware of a specific amount.

Author

TC Stein

Date

2004-10-06T15:41:26-06:00

ID

168305

Comment

I dunno, tons would be easy. I mean, you only need 10 200 lb males to make one ton. Of course, liberals are always scrawny vegetarians, so you'd need 10 women for 1/2 a ton, and another 5 men for the other half a ton. So, for minimum of 2 tons (to get the plural), you'd only need 40 women, or 20 men. Of course, if any of those republican fat cats register, well, they're of course fat, so that brings the number down. All in all, I say it was probably tons.

Author

kate

Date

2004-10-06T15:57:15-06:00

ID

168306

Comment

Giggle. I think I'll keep the number to myself just to drive the masses crazy. ;-)

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-06T16:12:57-06:00

ID

168307

Comment

If the objective is to obscure the reality, from the hype surrounding the event, then it would be completely understandable to lack an interest in divulging the total number registering to vote that night. It would seem though that an accuracy, and image, conscious public endeavor like the Jackson Free Press -- quick, for instance, to trumpet the latest page view and visit stats as a measure of its reach and clout -- would be proud to announce the actual registrations so all could gauge the enthusiasm produced by the effort. I'm sure the usage of "tons" in this column was meant to convey the notion of "many registrations" despite Miss Kate's weak stab at humor. If the estimate of total attendance is 300, then registrations were likely [x =< 300]. Maybe the Clarion-Ledger's decision to not go deep on the story is a good hint. Great pictures for the TV outlets, and a nice respite for the camera crews from reporting on restaurant inspections, but nothing particularly newsworthy for the print daily to get excited about featuring. It really is a simple question, how many registered? The more complex question would be why the JFP doesn't want to report on the actual number.

Author

TC Stein

Date

2004-10-06T18:21:43-06:00

ID

168308

Comment

TC, you crack me up. I really am beginning to think you're one of my staffers out to make us look good (except that I know you're not). I have no objective to "obscure reality." But as George Bush doesn't negotiate with terrorists, I do not respond to the taunting of bullies. Grow up, TC, or get lost.

Author

ladd

Date

2004-10-07T08:28:58-06:00