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Election for Ward 6 Council Seat Set for June 17
By HaleyFerrettiJackson City Council met today to announce that an election for the Ward 6 City Council seat, which was made available by Tony Yarber's election to mayor, will be held June 17, 2014. The qualifying deadline for the election is May 28.
Both Tyrone Hendrix, a longtime Democratic operative, and Robert Amos, who competed in the 2013 Democratic primary for Jackson mayor, have both confirmed that they are considering running for the Ward 6 position: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2014/may/01/hendrix-amos-among-ward-6-possibles/.
Hendrix helped manage Jonathan Lee's campaign for mayor in 2013 and worked with Regina Quinn during the recent special election for mayor. Amos ran for mayor of Jackson in 2009 and for a seat on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors in 2011.
A runoff election, should it be in order, is set for July 1.
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City & County
Hendrix, Amos Among Ward 6 Possibles
With Tony Yarber becoming Jackson's fourth mayor in a year's time, a special election will be required to fill his old Ward 6 seat.
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City & County
And LGBTQ Rights March On: The Who, What, How in Mississippi
Although there is growing support for equal rights in both Jackson and the state, legislation like SB 2681 has the potential to encourage and legalize discrimination, harking back to Jim …
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Greenville Becomes Fifth City in State to Pass LGBT Resolution
By HaleyFerrettiThe Greenville City Council met and passed an LGBT-inclusive resolution today, making it the fifth city in the state to pass a resolution of this kind.
Councilman Errick D. Simmons drafted the resolution and presented it at a special meeting, where it passed 6-0.
"Discrimination in any form has no place in our society. In light of recent alleged remarks made my Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers and the wave of efforts to treat classes and/or groups of people differently in our nation, it is only appropriate that City of Greenville adopts a public policy of equality, fairness, and nondiscrimination for all," Simmons stated in a press release.
He is the brother of Sen. Derrick Simmons who strongly opposed SB 2681, the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, before its passing. Derrick paralleled the bill to Jim Crow legislation and encouraged the House to vote against it.
"If you have never been discriminated against, you don't know how that feels. If you have never been discriminated against, you don't know how to feel discrimination. I urge you to vote against this bill because it legalizes discrimination," Derrick said on the House floor.
Greenville follows Magnolia, in Pike County near McComb, which passed a LGBT resolution just last week: http://jacksonfreepress.com/news/2014/apr/22/magnolia-miss-passes-pro-lgbt-resolution-pike-coun/
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Person of the Day
Gus McCoy
Gus McCoy has tackled many different careers in the last few years, including working as a youth pastor and an insurance agent, and even running for Hinds County District 2 …
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LGBT
Campaigns Put Mississippi on LGBT-Rights Front Line
Next week, the Human Rights Campaign kicks off its latest endeavor, Project One America, in Jackson. The Mississippi stop is one of three HRC will make during a tour that …
Story
Person of the Day
Emma Haley
Tomorrow, April 26, Warrior Dash comes to Jackson for the second time, thanks to the organization efforts of Race Director Emma Haley.
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City & County
Yarber Takes Mayor's Oath Amid Rocky Transition
Tony Yarber is Jackson's second mayor in less than one year.
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City & County
Will Helm Place Revitalize Farish District?
Helm Place, an 88-townhome, affordable-rental housing project that includes a 4,000-square-foot community center, is set to begin construction in the Farish Street Historic District by mid-to-late April, according to the …
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City & County
Taking a D.A.R.T. Out of Crime
D.A.R.T. works as JPD's "troubleshooting" unit by patrolling areas of the city that may be experiencing a more-than-average amount of crime, typically dealing with property crime or drug reinforcement.
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City & County
A Hands-On Tony Yarber Administration?
"Tony won!" exclaimed a man to a small, growing crowd outside one of the main ballrooms at the King Edward Hotel on Tuesday night.
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Post-Runoff Election Parties
By HaleyFerrettiCandidates will be hosting post-election parties after the runoff election today.
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City & County
Following the Money: More Shadowy Mayoral Backers Come to Light
Over the weekend, an unregistered political-action committee, Citizens for Decency, launched an all-out blitz with negative ads against Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber.
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City & County
Republic Group Booked New Yarber Response Ads, Targets 'Historically Hostile' Districts
A "pro-business" politics firm has confirmed that it has placed all of Tony Yarber's TV ads this election cycle, including a number of ads tonight to respond to negative advertising …
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City & County
Mayoral Campaigns, PACs Spending Big on Ads, Some Secretly
With two young candidates who are relatively unknown to big parts of Jackson, the airwaves were expected to be a major battleground in the capital city's mayor's race.
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Person of the Day
Donna Tartt
Before "The Goldfinch" (Little, Brown and Company, 2013, $30), Donna Tartt hadn't published a novel in 11 years. She told USA Today it took so long to finish writing because …
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City & County
Middleman Addresses Citizens for Decency's 'Duck Lips' Attack Ad on Yarber
The man who placed the "attack ad" on Tony Yarber says Chokwe A. Lumumba had nothing to do with it.
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City & County
Testy Debate Signals Muddy Finish for Mayor's Race
In last night's battle of the jabs—officially known as the latest Jackson mayoral debate—the gloves came off despite the candidates' earlier pledge that neither would engage in personal attacks.
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City & County
Lumumba: Advocate, Son
While canvassing door to door in south Jackson last week, mayoral hopeful Chokwe Antar Lumumba would take a few moments in between visiting with Ward 6 residents to talk about …
