Jackson Free Press

"Hold up, Wait a minute, Put a Little Love In It"

That's the message the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District sent the Jackson Redevelopment Authority yesterday over JRA's decision to terminate its lease with the Farish Street Group.

In a three-page letter to JRA Executive Director Willie Mott, CMPDD CEO F. Clarke Holmes said JRA's purported termination notice was sent in clear contravention of the FSG/JRA lease, because the CMPDD, who is acting on behalf of MDA (and protecting it's $4.7 million investment in Farish Street) wasn't given prior notice.

"CMPDD request that JRA immediately withdraw the Termination Notice as to the Subject Properties until CMPDD is provided reasonable notice and opportunity to cure any defaults under the JRA-FSG Lease, or JRA is allowed to exercise its rights under the Leasehold Deeds of Trust and the Consent Agreement to protect its security for the CMPDD Loans," the letter read.

It might not be a pardon, but the letter could serve as a temporary reprieve for Farish Street Group and its embattled manager David Watkins. The better news here for Watkins is he seems to have CMPDD on his side in the negotiations going forward, because JRA isn't likely to pick a fight with the wing of MDA it has to deal with on a regular basis.

The letter concludes with this message: "In the meantime, we believe the best course of action for all of the parties is to move forward with transparent discussions aimed at getting the Farish Street project completed in a manner that achieves everyone's goals."

In 1970, the University of Southern Mississippi defeated Ole Miss 30-14 in what, to this day, stands as one of the biggest upsets in Mississippi history.

Southern Miss was thrashed the week before by San Diego State, and got torn to pieces the next week by Mississippi State, but managed to beat Archie Manning and the No. 4-ranked Rebels because of a secret weapon.

That weapon was "Wee" Willie Heidelberg, who died Tuesday in Jackson. The then-20-year-old junior was the only black player on either team. He touched the ball three times, and scored twice.

As Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Director Rick Cleveland wrote:

Wee Willie was like a black dot on an ivory domino, the only black player on the field for either team that day. His performance foreshadowed sweeping changes in Deep South football. On this, the last day of Black History Month, it seems appropriate to ask the question: Was Heidelburg aware of the ramifications back then as a 20-year-old junior?

“Oh no,” Heidelburg says. “I knew that was a special victory. I knew we had done something big. But, as for me, I was just playing ball. I certainly wasn’t thinking about making history.”

Read more here.

Heidelberg eventually moved to Jackson and took a job coaching at Belhaven College. Many Jacksonians will remember him as the official scorekeeper for the high school basketball championships at "the big house."

The monthly meeting of the Jackson Redevelopment Authority was uneventful Wednesday morning, at least in the portion of the meeting open to the public.

For the first hour of the meeting, which began at 10 a.m., board members discussed issues it has had in regards to Union Station, including repeated break-ins on the second floor and a roof that has leaks. The second discussion item involved a planned renovation to the hospitality area adjacent to the meeting room at 218 Presidents Street, where the group meets.

The board then went into executive session to discuss important matters such as the proposed convention center hotel project and an update and call for action regarding the ongoing renovation of Farish Street.

Members on hand included President Ronnie Crudup (Ward 6), who was re-elected to lead the group at the meeting, Beau Whittington (Ward 1), John R. Reeves (Ward 5), Beneta Burk (Ward 3), Gregory Green (Ward 4). Executive Director Willie Mott and Administrative Assistant Denise Drake were also in attendance.

The Jackson City Council really got the ball rolling on its new term Monday afternoon by kicking the can on two important issues - the confirmation of Lumumba's selection of fire and police chief - not one week, but two weeks down the road.

Council President Charles Tillman, Ward 4, set a public hearing for Thursday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. for citizens to come out and let their voices be heard on the appointment of Lindsey Horton and Willie Owens as police and fire chief, respectively. Mayor Chokwe Lumumba held a press conference to introduce the duo minutes before the council meeting began.

When asked by Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon, Ward 7, why the delay of a vote was necessary, Tillman said he was going to "be accommodating" to the council members who were not present who said they wanted to be a part of the process.

The two absent members were Quentin Whitwell, Ward 1, who was attending a Mississippi Bar Association Convention and LaRita Cooper-Stokes, Ward 3, who does not attend special meetings of the council on principle.

Tillman ended the meeting by saying he should have his committee appointments done by next week, at the latest, and said he's excited about how efficient this council is going to be.

The good news: Tillman approved Cooper-Stokes' seating arrangement proposal, and the council now sits in the correct order - from 1 to 7 – except seats 4 and 5 are flipped so the president can sit in the middle. (So the order is now 1-2-3-5-4-6-7.) Perhaps next, the council can get its priorities in order.