Mississippi

updated 10:06 a.m.

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Elizabeth of London Graces Natchez

The Queen of England is not the only Elizabeth in London. Far more important to me is Elizabeth Scanlon Thomas. Why is she more important? First of all, she was reared in Natchez until the age of 12, so she is full of Southern charm and grace - she even still has her Natchez accent with a little touch of British. She is a blogger par excellance - both at her own blog and this one. She i...
Natchez Mississippi - Fri 7:01 p.m. - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Ex-Natchez-Pat Returns to Natchez

On Tuesday several bloggers of The Natchez Blog, gathered for lunch at the Carriage House Restaurant, in Natchez, eager to meet Elizabeth Scanlon Thomas who had arrived in town, from her London, England home, the night before. Casey, Gwen, Elodie, Marsha, and myself had never met Elizabeth, but we felt as if we knew her, from reading her comments on Casey's Natchez Blog, as well as po...
Natchez Mississippi - Fri 11:09 a.m. - 3 clicks 3 clicks

An INCLUSIVE Prom for Constance: Contribute Here!

You guys are amazing: the reaction to yesterday's post about the bigots of the Itawamba County School Board and their craven decision to cancel prom for Itawamba Agricultural High School, rather than let a lesbian student bring another girl as her prom date, has been overwhelming and fierce.  Bless you all! In response to the outpouring of support for Connie McMillan's civil rights, the ...
DailyKos (Mississippi) - Fri 9:51 a.m. - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Hotel Owner Offers to Pay for Prom for Miss. Students in N.O.!

This is good news.  Most of us have heard about the Itawamba County, Mississippi, School District's decision to cancel the prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School (near Tupelo, Mississippi) rather than let a lesbian student attend with her girl friend. Well now they can party in New Orleans, if they want to: New Orleans hotel owner Sean Cummings is offering to take the students to Ne...
DailyKos (Mississippi) - Fri 7:40 a.m. - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Miss Betty gives me a gift

My mother's dearest friend was Betty McGehee of Natchez. Miss Betty (we children were allowed to call her that after years of knowing her) lives on a big farm with horses, cows and chickens. We always loved going out to the McGehee's and riding their horses and getting a taste of the country life. Here's me and Miss Betty earlier this week: We saw Miss Betty twice during our few days in Nat...
Natchez Mississippi - Fri 7:00 a.m. - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Barbour Fiddles While Mississippi Burns

The federal government today released its states based unemployment figures for January. As reported by Chris Kromm in Facing South - a blog from the Institute for Southern Studies - the South is suffering. Eight out of 13 Southern states, including Mississippi, have unemployment figures below the national average. A year ago, Mississippi had 8.2% unemployment. Now it's 10.9%. T...
Natchez Mississippi - Thu 7:08 p.m. - 6 clicks 6 clicks

Bigots Cancel Prom rather than let Lesbian attend (BIG UPDATE!)

In 1962, the city of Jackson, Mississippi realized that it would have to desegregate its five public swimming pools.  Rather than face the prospect of having to share a swimming pool with blacks, the city filled four of the pools with dirt and gave a fifth to the YMCA which, as a private organization, was then free to keep it whites-only.  In a profoundly wrong decision in 1971, the Sup...
DailyKos (Mississippi) - Thu 4:03 p.m.

Barbour Embarasses Mississippi

Today our esteemed Governor wrote an op ed piece in the Washington Post in support of Toyota - and then went on CNN to do the same thing. Haley seems to have forgotten that he is a Governor now - not a lobbyist for big corporations. I know, I know. We have lots of jobs in Mississippi dependent on Toyota. But Haley seems to have also forgotten that people were killed due to Toyota's greed ...
Natchez Mississippi - Feb 24 - 2 clicks 2 clicks

Link: Gov. Barbour Is a Misguided Genius

I don’t usually link to my own blog posts, but I wanted to share one over at the Mississippi Democratic Party’s blog that I wrote, Gov. Barbour: The Misguided Genius. ...
Sam R. Hall - Feb 23 - 6 clicks 6 clicks

The Internet Makes This a Small World

This is a followup of sorts to my post about being an online ambassador for Natchez. Today I ran across an alert for someone visiting Natchez. When I clicked on it, I was taken to Southern Lagniappe - a blog by an unbelievable photographer from Vicksburg. She also has another site with nothing but photographs, which are the most beautiful photographs of Mississippi I have ever se...
Natchez Mississippi - Jan 9

Mississippi Woman Makes the Big Time!

Brandon Mississippi native Sarah Thomas just became the first woman to referee a college bowl game. ( See ESPN story .) There are five other female referees in major college football, but Sarah Thomas was the first to draw a post season assignment. That might be because she has the most experience - she became the first woman to officiate at a major college game in 2007. She is also on the...
Natchez Mississippi - Jan 6

Online Ambassador for Natchez

I decided today that I serve as an unpaid Online Ambassador for Natchez - and I'm not the only one. So you may be wondering what in the world is that? I'm a great believer in Google Alerts . I subscribe to one for Natchez. Every day, I receive by email a list of all the places on the internet that the word "Natchez" appeared that day. I read quite a few of them. If Natchez is in the news or th...
Natchez Mississippi - Jan 5 - 4 clicks 4 clicks

Rec Complex Will Benefit Citizens

The following letter was published today in the Natchez Democrat . Like many people in this community, I strongly support the concept of a recreation complex, but I worry whether our elected officials are capable of pulling it off. They haven’t been too impressive lately. However, I discovered something that causes me to be able to wholeheartedly support the Referendum. That something is...
Natchez Mississippi - Nov 5

City In Recovery

by Adam Lynch April 8, 2008 A spring storm went overboard last Friday, spawning about five tornados in the Jackson area and leaving a large portion of the city and some adjoining communities without power well into the following week. Hinds County Emergency Operation Director Larry Fisher called the storm the worst thing to hit the city since the Easter flood......
Jackson Free Press - Nov 5 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Barbour Declares State of Emergency, Includes Jackson

2:45 p.m.—(JACKSON, Mississippi) - Governor Haley Barbour today declared a State of Emergency for 12 Mississippi counties following a severe weather system and tornadoes which hit parts of Central Mississippi, including the Jackson Metro area. The Governor announced the State of Emergency while touring neighborhoods in Northeast Jackson, which were among the hardest-hit areas from Friday’s storm ...
Jackson Free Press - Nov 5 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

The Show Goes On: Crossroads This Weekend

Despite the weather, all is well at Regal Cinemas Parkway Place, the Mississippi Museum of Art and Hal and Mal's. All events are on schedule and the Crossroads "show" will go on! Crossroads Highlights This Weekend: If you haven't make it out, come spend the weekend with us. Buy your All-Access Pass or tickets at the Parkway Place Box Office throughout the festival. Box Office sales are Cash or C...
Jackson Free Press - Nov 5

[Best Bets] Wednesday, April 7

If you haven’t already, be sure to stop in at the Mississippi Museum of Art to take in the Young Person’s Cultural Exchange Exhibit, featuring artwork from young people across the state. Call 601-960-1515 for details. … David Gatlin takes the stage at Martin’s at 10 p.m. … Left ......
Jackson Free Press - Nov 5

Court System, Autopsy Expert Slammed

by Adam Lynch April 8, 2008 Innocence Project attorneys, activists and a man who served 12 years in Parchman for a crime he did not commit are calling for a radical overhaul of the state’s criminal-justice system in order to keep innocent Mississippians out of prison. Part of that overhaul, the Innocence Project says, is to revoke the medical license of Dr. Steven......
Jackson Free Press - Nov 5 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

JSU's Ronald Mason: Gee Whiz, I’m Sorry

by Adam Lynch Photo by Adam Lynch April 2, 2008 Jackson State University President Ronald Mason Jr. was full of apologies regarding the university’s recent failed attempt to push an eminent-domain “quick-take” bill through the Mississippi Legislature. The bill would have allowed the JSU Development Foundation to claim property for the school’s expansion over a 50-acre......
Jackson Free Press - Nov 5 - 5 clicks 5 clicks

[Best Bets] Thursday, May 8

Make it a point to stop in to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science as its “Bone up on Bones” exhibit reaches its final days, teaching people about bone health and overall well-being. Call 601-354-7303 for details. … Take in some live music and make some new friends at the Plaza Building’s “Thursdays at the Plaza” at 5 p.m. at 120 N. Congress Street. Be sure to try a new dish at Tye’s Resta...
Jackson Free Press - Nov 5 - 2 clicks 2 clicks