aquababie's world

the cowboy get a delay

the big news here, after the obama win, has to be the trial of our mayor.  he's managed to get a delay until january.  i think the city needs some closure. 

November 11, 2008

Judge delays Melton's trial

By Chris Joyner
chris.joyner@jackson.gannett.com

U.S. District Court Judge Dan Jordan this morning agreed to a request by defense attorneys to delay the civil rights violation trial of Jackson Mayor Frank Melton and his former bodyguard until January.

Defense attorneys had told the judge they needed more time to review thousands of pages of prosecution material.

Jury selection was slated to begin Wednesday. The new trial will begin January 5.

Melton and ex-bodyguard Michael Recio are facing a three-count indictment charging them with violating the constitutional prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure in an Aug. 26, 2006, police-style raid on a Ridgeway Street duplex in northwest Jackson. According to prosecutors, Melton instructed several young men to attack the house with sledgehammers and participated in the destruction himself, while Recio and fellow bodyguard Marcus Wright stood guard.

Wright also was indicted but has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

Jordan said Monday he already was concerned the case would bridge the holiday weekend, meaning he would have to send jurors home for four days where they could be influenced by family members or news coverage of the trial.


Melton's attorney, John Reeves, and Recio's attorney, Cynthia Stewart, complained that prosecutors dumped on them thousands of pages of grand jury testimony, Jackson Police Department Internal Affairs files and FBI investigative documents last week.

"It's the guts of the case," Reeves said Monday.

Stewart said reading those documents between by Wednesday is "simply not humanly possible."

U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor Mark Blumberg said Monday that the defense was overstating the case. The evidence had been turned over in advance of a court deadline and given to Reeves and Stewart by e-mail as well as on DVD and CD.

While defense attorneys complained about 7,000 pages of evidence, Blumberg said the actual count of recently released pages is 3,792 — 1,700 pages of which is a single internal affairs file.

link:  http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20081111/NEWS/81111010&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

---

sad...

WAPT.com

Some Pearl Students Told Not To Say Obama's Name

School Bus Driver, Coach Disciplined

POSTED: 4:03 pm CST November 6, 2008

UPDATED: 11:29 pm CST November 6, 2008

PEARL, Miss. -- The Pearl Schools superintendent said that a school bus driver and a coach were disciplined for allegedly telling students not to say President-elect Barack Obama’s name.Reporters with 16 WAPT News received several calls from upset parents that said a school bus driver told the children on a Pearl school bus that if they said Obama’s name, they would be written up and taken to the principal’s office for disciplinary reasons.Another parent said that a coach at Pearl Junior High School told students that if they speak Obama’s name, they would face expulsion.Parents said the incident is sad as America begins a new presidency."They feel like they are afraid to say our president's name because they will get in trouble," mother Canishia Simpson said.

 "They shouldn't have to feel that way."Simpson's son Reginald was one of two students removed from a Pearl school bus Wednesday morning.Reginald Simpson said kids on the school bus were saying, "Obama is our president." That's when he said the bus driver told the kids not to say the president-elect's name because she didn't want to hear it."Somebody said, 'This is history, woman,'" Reginald Simpson said. "She pulled over and kicked me and the kid off the bus."The two boys were left at Pearl High School. They were later taken to Pearl Junior High School, where they attend school."We teach our kids not to be racist, and here it is going on," Canishia Simpson said. "I feel hurt by this."School officials looked at surveillance video from inside the bus.

They told Canishia Simpson that the bus driver overreacted.In a separate incident, a girl's basketball coach at Pearl Junior High School told students they would be suspended for saying Obama's name."I did have two incidents and the principals did review the bus driver tapes. It appears that some persons, out of disappointment and disillusionment with the election, may have been so frustrated that they said something inappropriate to students,” Pearl Schools Superintendent John Ladner said. “We have taken appropriate steps with the bus driver and the coach.”Ladner would not say what disciplinary action was taken."This is what the whole election was about, to support someone," parent Venus Neagu said. "Now they are facing consequences for it."Neagu's son Devin was on the bus Wednesday. He did not get kicked off, but his mother said she plans to confront school officials about the incident.Both of the students kicked off the school bus were allowed to ride on Thursday.

They won't face any disciplinary action from the school.“As adults and professionals we are not going to deprive anyone of their excitement over the current election of President-elect Obama, or any other candidate,” Ladner said. “The whole nation was excited, and in no way and at no time will children be disciplined for saying the name of the president-elect of the United States. Any employee who would attempt to do that would be corrected and disciplined. We expect professional behavior, respect and demeanor of staff and students. It is unfortunate that some employees mishandled this situation but they have been disciplined and I have spent the day clarifying our policies."Pearl's school superintendent said no child will be punished for saying Obama, Barack Obama or President Obama.Ladner said this is a part of our history now, and students will learn it.

link:  http://www.wapt.com/news/17925627/detail.html

Expanding the Mind

here's the article about the opening of our new show at sanaa gallery

Expanding the Mind

Kyle Doherty
kyle.doherty@jackson.gannett.com

'New Traditions'

Top-line: "Nontraditional" is the order of the day for a new exhibit at Fondren's Sanaa Gallery.

Titled New Traditions, the show features works by renowned artists Gwendolyn Magee, whose abstract works are on display at the Smithsonian Institute and the Mississippi Museum of Art, and Johnnie Mae Maberry, the chairwoman of the art department at Tougaloo College.

Gallery owner Lorenzo Gayden hopes the show will provoke thought and expand minds.

"I hope that they will take away the fact that art here in Jackson goes beyond what is traditionally considered to be art," he says. "A lot of folks believe that art has to be of a person or a thing, like, say, floral scenes or figurative portrayals of people.

"I want people to see that art here in Jackson is as progressive as any other part of the country or the world."

Magee and Maberry, who collaborated on the exhibit in addition to providing their art, have made careers out of finding inventive ways to channel creativity.

"Maberry actually epitomizes that in the use of organic and inorganic matter in her abstract art," Gayden says. "(She) uses a number of different nontraditional techniques; I don't think she even uses a brush.

"This is a new avenue of expression for her."

Gayden describes one of his favorite pieces by Maberry, a combination of acrylic paint and moss called Untitled #3.

"Most of her pieces are actually untitled, which is done intentionally to allow the viewer to interpret them," he explains.

Magee, on the other hand, takes a traditional craft and stands it on its head.

"She uses fabric the way a painter would use paint to render works that are both abstract and figurative," says Gayden. "Quilting uses various pieces of cloth to render images. What she would do is actually embroider designs into individual pieces of fabric and incorporate them into an overall design."

Gayden adds that despite their renown, the artists were pleasant to work with while organizing the show.

"Most people think of artists as being very egotistical and strange, but both of these ladies ... break that stereotype."

---

Expanding the Mind

last night...

was fabulous!  here are a few shots.  i'll have more to share in the coming days.

Sanaa Gallery features African-American artists (hint: this is the bf!!!)

Top line: The new Sanaa Gallery (named for the Swahili word meaning "work of art" and "beauty") adds a showcase for African-American art to the Fondren arena.

Sanaa Gallery and custom framing shop, located on the first floor of the Fondren Corner building, has its grand opening today. Music and refreshments augment the art draw.

"What I wanted to see in Jackson and particularly in Fondren was an art gallery featuring multi-ethnic and multicultural reflections," says owner Lorenzo D. Gayden, a Jackson artist and jazz trombonist. "I wanted to see more sculpture and different types of abstract art in an atmosphere that's upscale, comfortable and relaxed."

Gayden received a 2008 Miller Urban Entrepreneur Series grant of $15,000 after submitting and presenting a business proposal for the gallery.

Works include ceramic sculptures by Harold Miller, wood burnings in a Bob Marley series by Shambe Jones and a painting by Tony Davenport.

Gayden's own work testifies to twin loves of art and music, with musicians ablow, their energetic sound translated in hot colors and starbursts.

Good energy: Gayden, who attended Mississippi State University and was a fine art major at Jackson State University, was drawn to the Fondren area because of its vibrant mix.

"It seems to be very professional and at the same time, very interested in art - not just in the classical sense but in terms of its impact on culture.

"I think I bring a perspective and an experience a lot of Jacksonians can relate to and that's perhaps a bit different from what has been most commonly represented," Gayden says. "I think it fits in very well."

Gayden foresees exhibitions every other month, if not monthly, that'll focus on individual artists, themes and social and cultural topics.

- Sherry Lucas

Sanaa Gallery features African-American artists | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger.

this says it all :)

 

Awesome Oliver leads JSU to SWAC title

it's been a long time coming, but we did it!  my alma mater has won the swac championship :)  GO TIGERS!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

BIRMINGHAM - Jimmy Oliver wasn't supposed to be  good enough.

Many thought he couldn't play Division I football, despite being a two-time National Junior College Player of the Year and winning a national title at Pearl River Community College.

Southwestern Athletic Conference coaches and media didn't think the senior deserved to be named first- or second-team all-conference.

But there was Oliver, leading Jackson State to its first SWAC championship since 1996 with a 42-31 victory over Grambling State on Saturday.

There he was, tears streaming down his cheeks, holding the offensive Most Valuable Player award.

There he stood in the middle of Legion Field, having quieted all doubters, as  a champion - again.

"That's why I broke down when they said the game was over with," Oliver said. "I didn't even see the last two minutes. I just know they've doubted me, didn't get first- or second-team All-SWAC.

"I just had to come out and make something happen so there's something that they can't take away from me."

There's not one person among the announced crowd of 43,236 who will ever doubt the skills of Oliver again.

The saying goes, always leave them wanting more. The Jackson State faithful, who now have 16 SWAC trophies in the case, would certainly love to have one more year of the "Magic Man."

Oliver made his first "Oh my goodness, did he just do that" play in the first quarter with JSU (8-4) trailing 7-0. Grambling State (8-4) had forced JSU into third-and-13 on the GSU 14-yard line. Oliver bootlegged left and was face-to-face with a Grambling defensive lineman when he whipped the ball to Cedric Dixon in the back left corner of the end zone.

But Oliver wasn't done wowing the crowd.

The entire GSU defense seemed to have a hand on Oliver with JSU leading 14-12 in the second quarter. But first he ran left, then pivoted back right. Oliver sidestepped to the left and escaped another tackle - all the while looking downfield.

With a flick of the wrist, Oliver threw a strike to a wide-open Chris Johnson in the back left corner of the end zone - 21-12 JSU.

"He's been doing that all year long," JSU coach Rick Comegy said. "A lot of people were shocked, but that's the kind of game he plays."

But still, Oliver wasn't done.

Grambling State came out of halftime and scored 19 straight third-quarter points after trailing 28-12 after two quarters. Jackson State seemed to be doing everything it could to give the championship away.

But Oliver wasn't giving anything away Saturday.

Trailing 31-28, Oliver connected on passes of 11, 30 and 19 yards to move JSU deep into Grambling State territory. On third-and-10 from the GSU 14-yard line, rover Brandon Logan dove into Oliver's leg well behind the line of scrimmage. Logan wrapped that left leg in a bear hug and refused to let go.

But Oliver refused to go down.

Oliver, hopping on one foot, found Terrance Jones in the right flat for a 15-yard touchdown to take a 35-31 lead with 14:03 left in the fourth quarter.

Jackson State never trailed again.

"I met Jimmy in the juco championship and he beat me," Jones said. "When I came to Jackson State I said, 'Can I win one with you?' He promised we were going to win it.

"He's a champion. He's a warrior. I love to have him."

"Jimmy has just got all the heart in the world," JSU receiver Carlos Simpson said. "He's going to make it happen. He's going to come through."

Grambling State coach Rod Broadway acknowledged what Oliver had just done to his team in the postgame press conference.

His team hadn't given up 42 points all season long.

The G-Men hadn't allowed three touchdowns through the air in 2007.

Grambling State hadn't failed to record a sack since the season opener against Alcorn State.

And largely because of Oliver, the G-Men were denied their 19th SWAC title in the city sometimes nicknamed "Grambling-ham."

"He had three unbelievable plays," Broadway said. "He was the difference.

"He played like a champion."

Which is probably the best description of Oliver.

Link: Awesome Oliver leads JSU to SWAC title | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger.

another young sister lost

the news is reporting that latasha's body has been found.  keep her family in your thoughts and prayers.  hopefully the perpetrator will be brought to justice.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Student's ex-boyfriend charged with murder

Coroner says 20-year-old had died 2 weeks ago

By Nicklaus Lovelady
nicklaus.lovelady@jackson.gannett.com

Brian Albert Broom/The Clarion-Ledger Police work the scene on Brown Street in Jackson where Latasha Norman's body was found Thursday afternoon. Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said Norman has been dead for about two weeks. Norman's former boyfriend, Stanley Cole, has been arrested and charged with murder. MEMORIAL A memorial for Latasha Norman is set for noon Monday in the Rose Embly McCoy Auditorium on the main campus.

Hope for the safe return of missing Jackson State University student Latasha Norman ended in heartbreak for her family and friends Thursday when police discovered her body in a wooded area in north Jackson.

Her ex-boyfriend, Stanley Cole, was arrested a short while later and charged with murder.

The break in the Nov. 13 disappearance of the 20-year-old accounting major came when police took Cole into custody Thursday morning.

TIMELINE Oct. 9: Norman tells Pearl police Stanley Cole hit her in a restaurant parking lot. Nov. 13: Norman is last seen in class at JSU. Her vehicle is later found on campus. Nov. 15: Cole arrested in October assault. Nov. 16: Vigil held at JSU for Norman. Nov. 25: Hundreds turn to Facebook, a networking Web site, to find Norman. Nov. 28: America's Most Wanted in Jackson to film segment on Norman's disappearance. Thursday: 9 a.m.: Cole has hearing in a Pearl court on October assault and is taken into custody for more questioning in disappearance; 2 p.m.: Norman's body is found; 3 p.m.: Cole is charged with murder; 7 p.m.: JPD confirms body found is Norman's.

Information obtained from Cole during questioning by Jackson Police Department detectives led them to Norman's decomposing body near Brown Street about 2 p.m., police said.

"We have confirmed that the body found is that of Ms. Norman. I can't elaborate how, but it is her," JPD spokesman Sgt. Jeffery Scott said Thursday evening.

Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said Norman has been dead for approximately two weeks and was found about 15 yards off Brown Street. Grisham-Stewart would not give any other details about the condition of the body.

Late Thursday, Grisham-Stewart said due to the body’s state of decomposition the autopsy performed Thursday night was not completed and did not immediately reveal a cause of death. She said the state medical examiner would resume the autopsy later today.

“There were signs of trauma, but we have not concluded that’s what caused her death,” said Grisham-Stewart, who would not elaborate.

After the body was found, Cole, 24, also of Greenville, was charged.  Cole is a sophomore criminal justice major at JSU.

Earlier in the day, Cole was scheduled to appear in Pearl Municipal Court to face a simple-assault charge for allegedly hitting Norman in the face with his fist as they argued in a restaurant parking lot on Oct. 9. Before Cole could go before a judge, he was taken into custody by JPD.

Cole originally had been questioned by JSU police in the days after Norman's disappearance.

Assistant Police Chief Lee Vance would not say what prompted police to question Cole again or whether he had confessed to killing Norman.

The wooded area where Norman's body was found is about a half-mile south of County Line Road and just west of North State Street.

Around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, dozens of residents from the nearby North Hills Apartments, including children, stood on Brown Street several yards from where investigators found the body.

"I was coming out of my apartment trying to get on the interstate when I saw the crime tape and all these cars. I asked what had happened and they said they found the body of the JSU student," Nakia Banks said.

Norman's disappearance  attracted attention from local and national media outlets.

Her parents, Patricia and Danny Bolden of Greenwood, had temporarily moved to Jackson to aid in the search.

They could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Street poles, store windows and car windshields around town held pictures of Norman's smiling face.

"I kind of thought she might be dead, but I really hoped, for her and her family, that she was alive," said Melanie Weaver, a resident of North Hill Apartments. "To kill her and just throw her away like some dog is just wrong."

Cole is being held in Hinds County Detention Center without bond.

Scott said Cole's initial appearance could come as early as today and that the investigation has not been completed.

Nearly 17 hours prior to the body being found, students at JSU had held a prayer vigil in hopes that she would be found alive and returned to her family and friends.

To honor Norman, JSU classes have been cancelled today.

"I want to extend my deepest and most profound sympathy to the Norman/Bolden family, (Norman's) friends and others who loved her," said JSU President Ronald Mason Jr. in a written statement. "There are simply no words that can take away the anguish felt in the face of such a heinous and senseless act."

Search for missing JSU student hits Web

if yall can, please spread the word about this young lady.  i've been seeing her on more and more blogs.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Search for missing JSU student hits Web

Hundreds join Facebook group to offer help in finding Latasha Norman, missing since Nov. 13

By Nicklaus Lovelady
nicklaus.lovelady@jackson.gannett.com

TO HELP

Anyone with information is asked to call
the JSU Police Department at (601) 979-1659
or the Jackson Police Department at (601) 960-1234.
On the Net: http://pr.jsums.edu/show.asp?durki=717

The search for missing Jackson State University student Latasha Norman has reached the Internet.

More than 1,200 people have turned to Facebook, the popular networking Web site, as a way to get out the word about the disappearance, lend their support and pray for the safe return of Norman, who was last seen on Nov. 13.

People from across the country have joined the Facebook group, "Help Find Missing Jackson State University Student Latasha Norman."

"I don't know her or her family. What motivated me to join is that I know that could be my daughter, my mother, or a friend," said Alrick Banks of Bloomington, Ind.

"I think it's my civic duty and the Christian thing to do."

After coming across the page last week, Banks encouraged everyone who viewed the page to e-mail information on it to everyone they knew.

By late Sunday afternoon, about 800 people had joined, but that number quickly grew to 1,200 as the day progressed.

"I think everyone who joined is helping," Banks said. "And even if people don't join, at least they got a chance to read it and can get the word out. What I learned about Facebook is that it's not only for networking and chatting; it also allows people to disseminate information."

Banks said that in some situations, Facebook can function as an unofficial Amber alert.

Facebook also has been used by those mourning the loss of loved ones.

Justin Gunn, an 18-year-old who was gunned down this summer, and LaQuannah Williams, a 19-year-old killed in a car wreck earlier this month, are two Jackson residents who have been memorialized on Facebook pages.

Norman, a 20-year-old accounting major from Greenville, was last seen leaving a class at JSU. Her car was left on campus.

Since the investigation began, JSU detectives, along with the Jackson Police Department's Missing Persons Bureau, have followed up on several leads but have come up empty.

The FBI also is involved in the search.

"I"m praying oh so hard for (Norman) and (her) family right now," Brandon Davis wrote on the page. "I've never prayed so hard for something in my life.

"I grew up in church with her and her family, and my heart is just breaking to see the agony that they are going through right now. May God quickly bring an end to this and bring (Norman) back home safe and sound."

help find latasha!

this is just hitting the national airwaves.  if anyone locally knows anything, help this family please!
___________________________________________________________________________________

Missing JSU student gains national attention

The Clarion-Ledger

Special to The Clarion-Ledger Norman

The father of missing Jackson State University student Latasha Norman is expected to be on MSNBC later this morning.

Carmen Widman, a booking producer for the national news show, said Norman’s father, Danny Bolden, is scheduled to be interviewed via telephone on the show at 9:30 a.m. today.

Norman’s father and mother, Patricia Bolden, have been in Jackson since reporting her missing last week.

Her parents last talked to her Nov. 12 and she was last seen leaving a class around 2:30 p.m. the next day.

Anyone with information is asked to call JSU’s police department at (601) 979-2580 or the Jackson Police Department’s missing person bureau at (601) 960-1210.

The FBI and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office are also helping with the investigation.

Link:  missing jsu student