Jackson Free Press

Mayor Tony Yarber may have lost the battle with the Jackson City Council over his desire to issue a infrastructure emergency proclamation, but he's not giving up the public-relations fight.

This morning, the mayor's communications office sent out a press release touting a mention of the of the strategy on the website of Next City (formerly Next American City). The story, posted today, looks at quick-fix infrastructure strategies in Jackson and San Diego.

"The article cites the Mayor’s emergency declaration and San Diego’s proposal to prioritize maintenance investment, saying the strategies of both cities 'resonate,'" the press from Yarber's office states.

The story also called Yarber's strategy "more than a little unusual" and agrees with the city council's reluctance to go balls-to-the-wall with a declaration that, according to Yarber, could involve a relaxation of procurement protocols.

"Probably, he’s right to be cautious," writes Next City's Rachel Dovey, referring to Ward 6 Councilman Tyrone Hendrix. "Procurement laws vary state to state, even city to city, and though they tend to be a bureaucratic headache, they often provide some public safeguards in dealing with private industry."

Last week, the city council declined to approve a new declaration, even though Yarber said it didn't matter one way or the other because the city was going to go to work anyway.

Yarber did say then that having the council's imprimatur on his declaration would help the city get into rooms with state and federal influence-makers with whom the city might not otherwise have an audience.

He added that in issuing the declaration his administration had "changed the paradigm" and kicked off a national conversation on what constitutes an emergency. It's apparent that the Yarber believes the Next City article is part of that conversation.

As his news release points out:L "According to its website, 'Next City' provides daily online coverage of the leaders, policies and innovations driving progress in metropolitan regions across the world.”

The world is watching indeed.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/apr/29/21249/

Here's the release from JSU:

The Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University is pleased to announce that renowned poet and scholar, Nikki Giovanni, will deliver a keynote address at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, in the JSU Student Center Theater. Her talk will open Dr. Doris A. Derby’s documentary photography exhibit, The Black Arts Movement, Black Power and the Struggle for Civil Rights in America, in the Johnson Hall Art Gallery on the JSU Campus, where a reception will immediately follow Giovanni’s remarks.

Poet Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 7, 1943. Although she grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, she and her sister returned to Knoxville each summer to visit their grandparents. Giovanni graduated with honors in history from her grandfather’s alma mater, Fisk University. Since 1987, she has been on the faculty at Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor. She has been awarded an unprecedented seven NAACP Image Awards, and she has been nominated for a Grammy and been a finalist for the National Book Award. Her books have included authored three New York Times and Los Angeles Times Best Sellers.

Dr. Doris A. Derby’s photography exhibit, The Black Arts Movement, Black Power and the Struggle for Civil Rights in America, will open immediately following Giovanni’s address with a reception in the Johnson Hall Art Gallery at JSU. Derby, who came to Mississippi with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1963, was a ten-year civil rights veteran. Her work has been recognized in several publications and documentaries. Derby is a contributor to Hands on the Freedom Plow, a book about SNCC women’s contributions to the civil rights movement, and she was Georgia State University’s founding Director of African American Student Services and Programs from 1990 until her retirement in 2012.

All events are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the Center’s website at www.jsums.edu/margaretwalkercenter or contact the Center’s staff at 601-979-2055 or [email protected].

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/apr/23/21188/

It’s unclear exactly how Stephen Gene Davenport died, but what is clear is that more happened than authorities have publicly disclosed.

Davenport died on April 21 after an apparent scuffle with deputies from the Lauderdale County sheriff's department.

Sheriff Billy Sollie told media outlets two of his deputies were also injured.

"The individual was placed in restraints. The individual became unresponsive," Sollie told WTOK. "Metro Ambulance was contacted, and he was transported to a local hospital where treatment was rendered. But he passed away at a local hospital."

The news station reported that Davenport, 40, and another man were fighting when deputies arrived and tried to intervene.

WTOK also reported that Davenport's mother said he fought with drug addiction and had no ill will toward the police.

Davenport's death came one week after Freddie Gray died while in police custody in Baltimore.

Baltimore Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said Gray died from a severe spinal cord injury.

"What we don't know, and what we need to get to, is how that injury occurred," Rodriguez said in a press conference.

Hopefully, the same is true of the Davenport case.

According to City Hall, Jackson public-works crews will be doing the following today:

• Patching potholes on areas of S. Charleston Place, Jefferson Street, Dewey Street, Ellis Avenue, Castle Hill Drive, Monterey Street, Claiborne Avenue and First Avenue, River Park Dr., Springridge Drive, Lake Trace Drive, Kristen Drive and Lynn Lane, Riverside Drive and Highland Drive, Woodward Avenue, Ridgewood Road and Briarwood Road, Bailey Avenue, Brinkley Drive and Winchester Drive.

According to information from City Hall, Jackson public-works crews are working on the following projects today, April 14:

• Patching potholes on areas of Lynch Street at Highland Drive, Highland Drive, North Cliff Street, Ellis Avenue, Poole Street, Grand Avenue, Claiborne Avenue, Claiborne Avenue and First Avenue, Barrett Street from Dalton Street to Valley Street, Boling Street, Marshall Street, Woodhill Road, Old Canton Road & River Oaks Boulevard, Quail Run Road, Eastbourne Lane and Boxwood Circle.

• Repairing curb & gutter on St. Mary Street.

According to information from City Hall, Jackson public-works crews are working on the following projects today, April 13:

• Patching potholes on areas of Highland Drive, N. Cliff Drive, Colebrook Avenue, Barrett Street, Poindexter Street, Valley Street, Eastover Subdivision.

• Repairing curb and gutter on St. Mary Street.

On Friday, April 10, workers were completing the following:

• Patching potholes on areas Cedarwood and Woodcliff, Maddox Road, N. Siwell Road/Raymond Road/Western Hills, Laurie Lane, Maria Drive, W. Browning, W. County Line Road, Meadowbrook Road, Old Canton Road, Keele Street, Village Drive, Meadowlane Drive, Marshall Street, Webster Street, Lawrence Road, Magnolia Street and McTyere Street.

• Repairing utility cuts on Colebrook Drive & Springfield Circle and Northcliff Drive.