Runaway Ohio convert gains legal US residency
A lawyer for a Christian convert who ran away from her parents says the now-18-year-old woman has gained permanent U.S. residency after living in Ohio as an illegal immigrant.
A lawyer for Rifqa Bary said Tuesday the Sri Lanka native can now start applying for a driver's license, Medicaid coverage and college scholarships.
Lawyer Kort Gatterdam says Bary got her permanent residency card last week and can apply for citizenship in five years.
Bary had sought the green card as she argued she could not reunite with her Muslim parents. She alleged they threatened her with harm for converting, and she fled Ohio to stay with a minister in Orlando, Fla.
Bary also sought legal residency to achieve health coverage as she battles uterine cancer.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sources: Trust to take Bush’s Heisman
 |
| It appears as if the Heisman Trophy Trust is about to strip Reggie Bush of his 2005 trophy. Julie Jacobson/AP |
Bush would become the first player in the 75-year history of the award to have the trophy taken away. The NCAA found major violations in the Trojans’ football program in June and levied serious sanctions against the school.
Two sources close to the Heisman trust said the body’s investigation is coming to a close, and will ultimately concur with the NCAA’s determination that Bush was ineligible during his Heisman-winning season in 2005. Because of that independent conclusion, sources said the trust will relieve Bush of the award and leave the honor for that season vacant. The sources said Bush met with Heisman representatives last month at the New York law offices of Emmet, Marvin & Martin. The sources would not reveal details of that meeting.
Bush, now a standout with the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Heisman trust has been conducting its own independent inquiry into Bush’s eligibility since the NCAA ruled in June that the USC star had committed multiple violations by accepting cash, gifts and other impermissible benefits while playing for the Trojans. Yahoo! Sports first detailed the extra benefits in September 2006. In its findings, the NCAA retroactively ruled Bush ineligible for part of the 2004 season and all of 2005. The NCAA also ordered the USC program to remove all references to Bush from its sporting venues and promotional materials and vacate his statistics from all games in which he was ineligible.
In July, incoming USC president C.L. Max Nikias announced that the university would be returning its copy of Bush’s Heisman to the trust, stating the Trojans would honor and respect athletes who “did not compromise their athletic program or the opportunities of future USC student-athletes.” New USC athletic director Pat Haden followed up in August, stating during an interview with the Dan Patrick radio show that Bush should also voluntarily return his Heisman.
While others pressed for a swift decision, the trust opted for a patient, meticulous effort. Sources said the trust did its own detailed investigation over the past three months, using a litany of resources and reviewing its information against the NCAA’s findings. The trust also offered Bush a chance to impact the decision.
The process apparently came with considerable debate – in part because of the trust’s quest for due process, but also because of the unique nature of the decision. Never in the history of the award has the trust been forced to retroactively rule on the eligibility of a past winner. That reality, along with the NCAA’s findings, created a tangled knot of deliberation regarding the trust’s place in the role of enforcement. Sources said the prominent issues discussed included accountability, on-field vs. off-field conduct, implications of retroactively stripping an award and possible impact on future athletes and the NCAA.
Two factors outweighed all others, sources said: The Heisman ballot necessitates candidates be in compliance with NCAA bylaws and concern over the Heisman’s reputation in the wake of the NCAA findings against Bush.
The status of USC’s 2004 Bowl Championship Series national title remains to be determined. BCS officials are awaiting the NCAA’s ruling on the Trojans’ appeal of the June finding.
Rivals
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Preliminary Fall Enrollment Figures Show Increase of 4.1 Percent For Mississippi Universities
Across Mississippi's eight public universities, preliminary fall 2010 enrollment figures show an increase of over 3,000 students or 4.1 percent from fall 2009 numbers, according to data released by the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Instutions of Higher Learning today.
System-wide enrollment has increased annually since 1994.
“The trend lines indicate that more individuals are seeking to enhance their lives through increased post-secondary educational attainment,” said Dr. Hank M. Bounds, Commissioner of Higher Education. “We must find ways to support their efforts and increase retention and graduation rates in order to move Mississippi forward.”
Preliminary enrollment figures are unduplicated and count students one time if enrolled on more than one campus.
The only decreases occur at two of the states "historic black universities". Jackson State is expected to have a slight decrease of 1.1 percent, and Mississippi Valley State is expected to lose over 12 percent of last years enrollment numbers, according to the data.
The numbers below indicate the Fall of 2009 enrollment, the preliminary figures for Fall of 2010 and the percent change per university.
Alcorn State University
3,334
3,682
10.4%
Delta State University
4,031
4,324
7.3%
Jackson State University
8,783
8,689
-1.1%
Mississippi State University
18,601
19,644
5.6%
Mississippi University for Women
2,476
2,592
4.7%
Mississippi Valley State University
2,850
2,491
-12.6%
University of Mississippi Total
18,344
19,536
6.5%
15,293
15,778
3.2%
System Total
73,712
76,736
4.1%
The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.
System-wide enrollment has increased annually since 1994.
“The trend lines indicate that more individuals are seeking to enhance their lives through increased post-secondary educational attainment,” said Dr. Hank M. Bounds, Commissioner of Higher Education. “We must find ways to support their efforts and increase retention and graduation rates in order to move Mississippi forward.”
Preliminary enrollment figures are unduplicated and count students one time if enrolled on more than one campus.
The only decreases occur at two of the states "historic black universities". Jackson State is expected to have a slight decrease of 1.1 percent, and Mississippi Valley State is expected to lose over 12 percent of last years enrollment numbers, according to the data.
The numbers below indicate the Fall of 2009 enrollment, the preliminary figures for Fall of 2010 and the percent change per university.
Alcorn State University
3,334
3,682
10.4%
Delta State University
4,031
4,324
7.3%
Jackson State University
8,783
8,689
-1.1%
Mississippi State University
18,601
19,644
5.6%
Mississippi University for Women
2,476
2,592
4.7%
Mississippi Valley State University
2,850
2,491
-12.6%
University of Mississippi Total
18,344
19,536
6.5%
University of MississippiUniversity of Southern Mississippi
15,932
17,067
7.1%
University of Mississippi Medical Center
2,412
2,469
2.4%
15,293
15,778
3.2%
System Total
73,712
76,736
4.1%
The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Oil Rig Explodes Off Coast of Louisiana
Here we go again? I hope not.
Then there is this from the New York Times:
Sun Herald: Blast rocks rig in GulfSH
GRAND ISLE, La. -- The Coast Guard is responding to an explosion involving an offshore petroleum structure in the Gulf of Mexico.
Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. today. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.
Ranel says it hasn’t been determined whether the structure is a production platform or a drilling rig or whether workers were aboard. Ranel says smoke was reported but it is unclear whether the rig is still burning.
Then there is this from the New York Times:
NYT: Oil Rig Explodes in Gulf of Mexico, Coast Guard Says
A commercial helicopter company reported the blast around 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel said. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats were en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.
The Coast Guard said initial reports indicated all 13 crew members from the rig were in the water. One was injured, but there were no deaths.
The platform owned by Mariner Energy (NYSE:ME) is in about 2,500 feet of water, the Coast Guard said, and was not currently producing.
About 206 million gallons of oil from an undersea well spilled into the Gulf after BP's (NYSE:BP) Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers.
NYT
Charges Against Flora Man Accused of Negligent Manslaughter Dropped.
Hinds Co. fatal car crash charges dropped
Charges are being dropped against a Flora man accused of causing a 2006 crash that killed a 2-year-old and injured the child's mother because of inconclusive accident-reconstruction reports.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith tells The Clarion-Ledger that two recent accident reconstructions did not determine fault in the crash.
Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted 55-year-old Gary Beckwith on a culpable negligence manslaughter charge in the death of Ariyanna Patton of Bolton and aggravated assault for injuries to her mother, Kenya Harris.
Beckwith's attorney, Marc Brand, said prosecutors saw it was nothing more than an accident.
Beckwith's trial was scheduled for Sept. 20 in Hinds County Circuit Court.
SH
Charges are being dropped against a Flora man accused of causing a 2006 crash that killed a 2-year-old and injured the child's mother because of inconclusive accident-reconstruction reports.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith tells The Clarion-Ledger that two recent accident reconstructions did not determine fault in the crash.
Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted 55-year-old Gary Beckwith on a culpable negligence manslaughter charge in the death of Ariyanna Patton of Bolton and aggravated assault for injuries to her mother, Kenya Harris.
Beckwith's attorney, Marc Brand, said prosecutors saw it was nothing more than an accident.
Beckwith's trial was scheduled for Sept. 20 in Hinds County Circuit Court.
SH
Cops Grants for Cities and Counties include money to Ridgeland and Madison County
Miss. cities, counties share cops grants
Twenty local governments, including Madison and Rankin counties and Ridgeland, will split $630,000 in federal law enforcement grants.
The grants come from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.
"Each of these grants is intended to assist law enforcement in Mississippi to fight illegal activities, promote public safety and prosecute crimes," Sen. Thad Cochran said in a statement announcing the grant recipients.
The grants are as follows:
• City of Vicksburg/Warren County — $52,471 to purchase one police vehicle with patrol accessories.
• City of Meridian/Lauderdale County — $47,613 for the city to purchase technology to combat drug-related crime and for the county to enhance its communications capabilities.
• City of Greenville/Washington County — $47,747 to purchase equipment to improve data-gathering and communications equipment for the city and county.
• Cities of Olive Branch and Southaven — $37,597 for Olive Branch to establish a full-time traffic enforcement unit and Southaven to purchase mobile work stations for patrol units.
• City of Laurel/Jones County — $30,421 to purchase equipment for city and county law enforcement.
• City of Grenada/Grenada County — $19,135 to purchase equipment.
• City of Starkville/Oktibbeha County — $11,885 for the city and county to purchase Tasers.
• City of Tupelo — $23,620 to purchase Tasers and related equipment.
• City of Holly Springs – $21,078 to enhance officer safety, retention and equipment.
• City of Ridgeland – $10,240 to retrofit and equip a previously owned Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer to become a mobile command center.
• Leflore County — $31,468 to purchase video cameras for patrol units.
• Jackson County — $26,759 to purchase police radios and portable navigation systems for the aerial department.
• Marshall County — $21,676 to purchase and outfit a used patrol vehicle.
• Lowndes County — $19,808 to replace outdated equipment.
• Tunica County — $16,893 to upgrade patrol units with digital recording mobile systems.
• Lee County — $15,996 to update technology and improve data keeping.
• Lamar County — $13,529 to purchase new equipment and upgrade existing equipment.
• Rankin County — $11,810 to purchase portable radios.
• Panola County — $11,511 to purchase technology upgrades, including hand-held radios, laptop computers and website development.
• Madison County — $10,838 to purchase in-car laptops.
CL
Twenty local governments, including Madison and Rankin counties and Ridgeland, will split $630,000 in federal law enforcement grants.
The grants come from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.
"Each of these grants is intended to assist law enforcement in Mississippi to fight illegal activities, promote public safety and prosecute crimes," Sen. Thad Cochran said in a statement announcing the grant recipients.
The grants are as follows:
• City of Vicksburg/Warren County — $52,471 to purchase one police vehicle with patrol accessories.
• City of Meridian/Lauderdale County — $47,613 for the city to purchase technology to combat drug-related crime and for the county to enhance its communications capabilities.
• City of Greenville/Washington County — $47,747 to purchase equipment to improve data-gathering and communications equipment for the city and county.
• Cities of Olive Branch and Southaven — $37,597 for Olive Branch to establish a full-time traffic enforcement unit and Southaven to purchase mobile work stations for patrol units.
• City of Laurel/Jones County — $30,421 to purchase equipment for city and county law enforcement.
• City of Grenada/Grenada County — $19,135 to purchase equipment.
• City of Starkville/Oktibbeha County — $11,885 for the city and county to purchase Tasers.
• City of Tupelo — $23,620 to purchase Tasers and related equipment.
• City of Holly Springs – $21,078 to enhance officer safety, retention and equipment.
• City of Ridgeland – $10,240 to retrofit and equip a previously owned Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer to become a mobile command center.
• Leflore County — $31,468 to purchase video cameras for patrol units.
• Jackson County — $26,759 to purchase police radios and portable navigation systems for the aerial department.
• Marshall County — $21,676 to purchase and outfit a used patrol vehicle.
• Lowndes County — $19,808 to replace outdated equipment.
• Tunica County — $16,893 to upgrade patrol units with digital recording mobile systems.
• Lee County — $15,996 to update technology and improve data keeping.
• Lamar County — $13,529 to purchase new equipment and upgrade existing equipment.
• Rankin County — $11,810 to purchase portable radios.
• Panola County — $11,511 to purchase technology upgrades, including hand-held radios, laptop computers and website development.
• Madison County — $10,838 to purchase in-car laptops.
CL
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Reform candidates taken off Miss. U.S. House ballot
Mississippi election commissioners on Wednesday removed all four Reform Party candidates from the November congressional ballot because of questions about the state party's leadership.
The candidates have until next Tuesday to appeal their removal. They are Barbara Dale Washer in the 1st District, Ashley Norwood in the 2nd, Tracella Lou O'Hara Hill in the 3rd and Anna Jewel Revies in the 4th.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says their qualifying papers were submitted by Thomas Randolph Huffmaster, who called himself chairman of the Reform Party of Mississippi.
Hosemann says his office has a sworn statement from the national Reform chairman that Huffmaster was not state chairman and didn't have the authority to submit candidates' names.
CL
The candidates have until next Tuesday to appeal their removal. They are Barbara Dale Washer in the 1st District, Ashley Norwood in the 2nd, Tracella Lou O'Hara Hill in the 3rd and Anna Jewel Revies in the 4th.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says their qualifying papers were submitted by Thomas Randolph Huffmaster, who called himself chairman of the Reform Party of Mississippi.
Hosemann says his office has a sworn statement from the national Reform chairman that Huffmaster was not state chairman and didn't have the authority to submit candidates' names.
CL
The University of Mississippi Medical Center Joins The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society In Fundraising Efforts
The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and The Cancer Institute at The University of Mississippi Medical Center have formed a walking team for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual Light the Night fundraising walk.
The “HEME” team is made up of nurses and doctors who are making One Thousand Paper Cranes to help raise awareness and support critical funding for cancer research. The idea came to them when they heard the story about a little Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki, who was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age. She spent her time in a nursing home folding paper cranes in hope of making a thousand, which supposedly would have allowed her to make one wish - to live. Following suit, the HEME team has their wish - Cure Cancer!
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Light The Night Walk brings hope to patients like Sadako all over Mississippi. Light The Night is a two-mile evening fundraising walk to celebrate and honor lives touched by cancer. Teams gather and walk in twilight, holding illuminated balloons—white for survivors and red for supporters.
On Saturday, September 25, 2010, Trustmark Park will be the place to be for the 12th annual Light the Night Walk-- food and family entertainment will be provided for all. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., there will be food and festivities and you won’t want to miss the line-up of entertainment for the program at 7:00 p.m. There are no fitness level requirements, so everyone can participate! Help raise funds to enhance, prolong, and save lives. To register, or for more information, call 601-956-7447 or visit www.lightthenight.org/msla
To volunteer, or for more information about Light The Night, contact the Mississippi Office of the Mississippi / Louisiana Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at (601) 956-7447 or http://www.lightthenight.org/.
This year, the State of Mississippi, with the endorsement of Governor Haley Barbour, has adopted a resolution designating September as Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month in the state of Mississippi.
“Awareness Month is an opportunity to increase the public’s understanding of blood cancers and encourage people to support the funding of research to find cures and education programs to help patients have the best possible outcomes throughout their cancer experience,” said Lisa Alejandre, Executive Director for the MSLA Chapter of LLS. “With this in mind, we encourage everyone to come out on Saturday, September 25th at Trustmark Park and take part in our annual Light The Night fundraiser walk,” states Alejandre.
The “HEME” team is made up of nurses and doctors who are making One Thousand Paper Cranes to help raise awareness and support critical funding for cancer research. The idea came to them when they heard the story about a little Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki, who was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age. She spent her time in a nursing home folding paper cranes in hope of making a thousand, which supposedly would have allowed her to make one wish - to live. Following suit, the HEME team has their wish - Cure Cancer!
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Light The Night Walk brings hope to patients like Sadako all over Mississippi. Light The Night is a two-mile evening fundraising walk to celebrate and honor lives touched by cancer. Teams gather and walk in twilight, holding illuminated balloons—white for survivors and red for supporters.
On Saturday, September 25, 2010, Trustmark Park will be the place to be for the 12th annual Light the Night Walk-- food and family entertainment will be provided for all. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., there will be food and festivities and you won’t want to miss the line-up of entertainment for the program at 7:00 p.m. There are no fitness level requirements, so everyone can participate! Help raise funds to enhance, prolong, and save lives. To register, or for more information, call 601-956-7447 or visit www.lightthenight.org/msla
To volunteer, or for more information about Light The Night, contact the Mississippi Office of the Mississippi / Louisiana Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at (601) 956-7447 or http://www.lightthenight.org/.
This year, the State of Mississippi, with the endorsement of Governor Haley Barbour, has adopted a resolution designating September as Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month in the state of Mississippi.
“Awareness Month is an opportunity to increase the public’s understanding of blood cancers and encourage people to support the funding of research to find cures and education programs to help patients have the best possible outcomes throughout their cancer experience,” said Lisa Alejandre, Executive Director for the MSLA Chapter of LLS. “With this in mind, we encourage everyone to come out on Saturday, September 25th at Trustmark Park and take part in our annual Light The Night fundraiser walk,” states Alejandre.
Another Jackson County Embezzlement Charge Investigation By Auditor Pickering Results In An Arrest
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| State Auditor Stacey Pickering, center, speaks at a press event Tuesday at the Jackson County Courthouse in Pascagola with Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence, left, and Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd. |
Former court clerk Diehl surrenders to police
Former Pascagoula court clerk Rhonda Diehl surrendered to authorities after being indicted on three counts of embezzlement, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said this morning.
A city employee for 25 years, Diehl is accused of stealing a total of $17,175 over a three-year period while serving as the city's court clerk. She resigned in January, Pascagoula Police Chief Kenny Johnson said, at the conclusion of their investigation.
The city began an internal investigation after noticing irregularities in the city court funds. They called on Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence and State Auditor Stacey Pickering to assist in the investigation, which ultimately led to authorities identifying Diehl as a suspect.
The city, Johnson said, has since put in place additional precautionary measures to "quickly" detect any type of embezzlement involving city funds.
As for Diehl's arrest, Johnson said, "it's a shame."
SH
A report this morning on yesterday's arrest in the Mississippi Press said:
There are two other pending embezzlement cases in Jackson County.Sounds like we can expect at least one more arrest, and another very big feather for the Auditor's cap.
One involves two suspects and an undisclosed amount of misappropriated money from the Jackson County Fair Commission, which Pickering said he could not comment on because the investigation was ongoing. The missing funds were discovered in August 2009.
Lack of arrest in Madison County Teacher's crash upsets victim's family
The parents of a Madison County teacher who was killed in a head-on collision this month are questioning why no one has been arrested in the case.
"My husband has called the police several times," Bobbie Ward said Monday. "They just say they haven't finished the investigation."
Ward's daughter, Madison-Ridgeland Academy teacher Leigh Anne Ward, 35, died on Aug. 17 in the accident on River Thames Road in Jackson. Her car was hit head-on by a pickup driven by a 19-year-old.
Police said it will be a few more days at least before they release any more details about the accident.
"Hopefully, we will know something by the end of the week," said Colendula Green, spokeswoman for the Jackson Police Department.
Still, Bobbie Ward and her husband, Frazier, are frustrated. "(Today) is two weeks since it happened, and we haven't heard a thing from the police," Bobbie Ward said.
Leigh Anne Ward lived with her parents at their Jackson home. She was on her way home from MRA to take her father, a retired surgeon, to a birthday party.
Police have refused to release the name of the 19-year-old driver of the Toyota Tundra pickup that collided with Ward's Toyota Camry. He was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for observation.
"What I want to know and what my husband wants to know is why has that young man not been arrested," Bobbie Ward said.
Witnesses told police that the driver of the pickup was speeding on River Thames Road, where the speed limit is 25 mph.
CL
"My husband has called the police several times," Bobbie Ward said Monday. "They just say they haven't finished the investigation."
Ward's daughter, Madison-Ridgeland Academy teacher Leigh Anne Ward, 35, died on Aug. 17 in the accident on River Thames Road in Jackson. Her car was hit head-on by a pickup driven by a 19-year-old.
Police said it will be a few more days at least before they release any more details about the accident.
"Hopefully, we will know something by the end of the week," said Colendula Green, spokeswoman for the Jackson Police Department.
Still, Bobbie Ward and her husband, Frazier, are frustrated. "(Today) is two weeks since it happened, and we haven't heard a thing from the police," Bobbie Ward said.
Leigh Anne Ward lived with her parents at their Jackson home. She was on her way home from MRA to take her father, a retired surgeon, to a birthday party.
Police have refused to release the name of the 19-year-old driver of the Toyota Tundra pickup that collided with Ward's Toyota Camry. He was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for observation.
"What I want to know and what my husband wants to know is why has that young man not been arrested," Bobbie Ward said.
Witnesses told police that the driver of the pickup was speeding on River Thames Road, where the speed limit is 25 mph.
CL
Auditor Pickering issues demand for $1.2 Million against former Jackson County Employee
Former Jackson Co. clerk accused of stealing $890,000
A former Jackson County employee is charged with embezzling $890,000. The indictment against Ginger Lashley, 50, released Tuesday accuses her of using her position as a clerk to steal money from 2001 until November 2009 when she was fired and arrested.
The indictment alleges Lashley diverted county money into a personal savings account at a local bank. That account, entitled "Jackson County Food Drive," received regular deposits of county checks according to court papers.
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said bank officials became suspicious of the account in 2009 and alerted investigators. Byrd said the frequency and size of the deposits seemed suspect. He added there is no official county account for a "Jackson County Food Drive."
Lashley was first accused last year of stealing $125,000 of county money. However, as investigators dug deeper, the amount of money that disappeared from county coffers grew.
State Auditor Stacy Pickering said his office issued a demand against Lashley for $1,232,579.73, which includes the amount she is accused embezzling along with investigative costs.
"This is one of the largest embezzlement cases we've investigated by the State Auditor's Office and represents a significant loss to taxpayers of Jackson County," Pickering said.
Jackson County Board President Mike Mangum said since the investigation started, the County has implemented safe guards to prevent this type of activity from happening again.
"As public servants, we take this situation very seriously and understand our first responsibility is to be good stewards of the taxpayer's money," Mangum said.
Lashley began working for the county in 1998. Investigators say the embezzlement began in 2001 when Lashley was working in the Accounts Payable office.
WLOX
A former Jackson County employee is charged with embezzling $890,000. The indictment against Ginger Lashley, 50, released Tuesday accuses her of using her position as a clerk to steal money from 2001 until November 2009 when she was fired and arrested.
The indictment alleges Lashley diverted county money into a personal savings account at a local bank. That account, entitled "Jackson County Food Drive," received regular deposits of county checks according to court papers.
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said bank officials became suspicious of the account in 2009 and alerted investigators. Byrd said the frequency and size of the deposits seemed suspect. He added there is no official county account for a "Jackson County Food Drive."
Lashley was first accused last year of stealing $125,000 of county money. However, as investigators dug deeper, the amount of money that disappeared from county coffers grew.
State Auditor Stacy Pickering said his office issued a demand against Lashley for $1,232,579.73, which includes the amount she is accused embezzling along with investigative costs.
"This is one of the largest embezzlement cases we've investigated by the State Auditor's Office and represents a significant loss to taxpayers of Jackson County," Pickering said.
Jackson County Board President Mike Mangum said since the investigation started, the County has implemented safe guards to prevent this type of activity from happening again.
"As public servants, we take this situation very seriously and understand our first responsibility is to be good stewards of the taxpayer's money," Mangum said.
Lashley began working for the county in 1998. Investigators say the embezzlement began in 2001 when Lashley was working in the Accounts Payable office.
WLOX
Monday, August 30, 2010
Madison County Foundation hosts event for Congressman Thompson, Madison County Business League hosts event for Congressman Harper
Congressional representatives shared their goals for the local economy and national issues last week in separate addresses to Madison County business groups.
Second District Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, addressed the Madison County Foundation, while 3rd District Rep. Gregg Harper, a Republican, spoke to the Madison County Business League.
Thompson challenged his group to consider the northern part of the county for economic development projects.
"I challenge the Madison County Foundation to look at an airport in the northern area," said Thompson, spotlighting Flora as a place ripe for growth.
Thompson, who represents the northern end of the county, said that area is essential for the county's growth and an airport would spark other development in the rural area.
Flora Mayor Leslie Childress said town leaders have been working closely with Thompson on projects. "They are premature to talk about, but we hope to have some things announced this fall," he said.
Thompson also encouraged the group to continue making education a priority.
Mississippi cannot continue to spend more on prisoners than on students, he said. The state's "best and brightest" come with a price tag, he said.
Thompson and Harper both discussed national issues in their speeches.
Thompson said he continues to support President Obama's health care plan, which will bring better service to those in need.
"When you look at the Second District, every county is medically underserved, including Madison County," he said.
Harper said the health care bill is an example of a "federal government overreach. It needs to be repealed or replaced.
"I don't think we can repeal the bill without a Republican president," he said, adding that a Republican-controlled House, which could occur after November elections, could have oversight through funding.
On the budget issue, Harper said the House, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi's guidance, failed to produce a budget before this upcoming session.
"Spending is completely out of control, and the best they can say is, 'It's Bush's fault,' " Harper said.
"I understand putting the blame on the previous administration. But two years later, you own it," he said.
"When the president says by 2013 we will cut deficit spending in half, it sounds good - but not when you run it through the roof," Harper said.
CL
Saturday, August 28, 2010
A great day to be a kid in Flora and Madison County (Pictures and Video)
Saturday was a great day to be a kid in Flora and Madison County. Temps were less stifling than earlier in the month, and there was plenty to do.
Fun In Flora
Kearney Park Cowboys Football at East Flora
The KP Cowboys defeated the Eagles in the early game 26-6.
The Andrew Jackson Council and Boy Scouts of America 100-Year Celebration Camp-O-Ree at Liberty Park in Madison
Fun In Flora
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| Sophie Longwitz takes a break from campaigning for her dad, Will at Fun In Flora. |
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| Kids enjoy the rock climbing wall at Fun In Flora. |
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| Fun In Flora. |
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| Fun In Flora |
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| Kids enjoy the Space Jump at Fun In Flora. |
Kearney Park Cowboys Football at East Flora
The KP Cowboys defeated the Eagles in the early game 26-6.
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| The Kearney Park Cowboys meet their opposition on the field following a 26-6 win. |
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| Two Kearney Park Cowboy defenders surround the Eagle's QB on one of the final plays of the game at East Flora School. |
The Andrew Jackson Council and Boy Scouts of America 100-Year Celebration Camp-O-Ree at Liberty Park in Madison
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| Thousands of Scouts descended on Liberty Park in Madison for a weekend long celebration of 100-years of Scouting. |
Friday, August 27, 2010
Affirmative Action at work: Nettleton School District firestorm brewing.
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| Nettleton Middle School Principal Van Ross |
Children running for class officer posts at a Mississippi public school are only allowed to compete for certain positions based on their race, according to a memo handed out last week to students.
The Nettleton Middle School elections are divided between offices pegged for black and white students, according to the memo, which was provided to TSG by a parent. The document was handed out to every student in the school’s sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, and it details the race requirements for each of four class officer spots (president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and reporter).
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| A few days ago, according to blogger Suzy Richardson, Nettleton Middle School students brought home the above memo, which spells out the requirements for students who want to run for class office: |
Of the 12 offices for which students compete, eight are earmarked for white students (including the three class president spots), while four are termed “black” seats. Middle school administrators have not returned TSG phone calls, so it is unclear how this policy was established, or whether the number of offices apportioned for each race changes annually. Additionally, it is unknown how children who are not black or white would run for student government offices.
Students seeking class office were directed to return their election applications, complete with the petition signatures of 10 classmates, to science teacher Jenny Payne by August 24. The Nettleton middle school has about 400 students, and about 72 percent are white, according to a source familiar with the school board's operation. The majority of the remaining students are black.
TSG
Hospital for South Madison County takes another hit from State Health Officer
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| State Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier |
State health officer Mary Currier has denied St. Dominic Health Systems’ request to build a 71-bed hospital just north of Madison.
Currier’s decision was announced yesterday. St. Dominic officials told The Clarion-Ledger they would appeal the decision to Hinds County Chancery Court.
Currier says she agreed with her staff that the hospital isn’t needed.
Health Management Associates, which owns the only hospital in Madison County, had opposed St. Dominic’s plan to relocate 71 beds from its Jackson campus to suburban Madison.
It was St. Dominic’s third attempt to open a facility in Madison County
MBJ
JJ: Let the hit pieces commence
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| Jerry Mitchell |
It didn't take long after Neshoba for the Clarion-Ledger to do a hit job on State Auditor Stacy Pickering.
Hmmm..... I wonder how Mr. Mitchell even found out about Mr. Pickering's use of a state vehicle. It wouldn't be at all surprising if the "tip" came from someone doing some "opposition research". Its pretty obvious to any political observer Mr. Pickering will be a serious candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Family name. Good looks. Base of Laurel and Hattiesburg. Name recognition in the Jackson area due to his current tenure as State Auditor. Then there are the family connections and networks that could help if made available to him. Its no coincidence the Clarion-Ledger wrote a hit piece on an up-and-coming young conservative politician.
Frankly, its hard to see what the fuss is about. Mr. Pickering is to be admired if commuting from Laurel as it shows dedication to his job and his family. Mr. Pickering could have imitated some current state senators: get another home here in Jackson, keep the family stuffed out of sight and mind in another part of the state, and make a mockery of his marriage. Mr. Pickering instead chose to commit himself to the roles of State Auditor, husband, and father. For doing so, he earned sniping from the "state newspaper" and the rest of the Jackson media. The same media that lauds one particular state Senator from another part of the state who is married, keeps a home here in Jackson, stuffs the family out of sight and mind back home, and flaunts his floozies in public for all to see while the media talks about what a great guy he is because he is the media's best friend. He is not the only legislator who does that either. Mr. Pickering returned over three million dollars to the taxpayers of Mississippi, dwarfing the record of is predecessor. For his troubles, Mr. Pickering earns a small salary, which he knew when he ran for office. If Mr. Pickering's use of a state vehicle costs even a few thousand dollars, its a bargain. Forget the fundraising numbers, if Mr. Pickering is receiving this kind of scrutiny from the Clarion-Ledger, somone must be worried.
Read the entire article at Jackson Jambalaya
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Another example of why apartments in ANY municipality are a bad idea
City orders complex to make repairs
A Ridgeland apartment complex has 60 days to correct 1,585 code violations after the city denied the company's appeal for leniency and time.
In a unanimous vote, Ridgeland's Board of Aldermen agreed that Baymeadows Apartments had violated the city's property codes.
With Tuesday night's vote, the owners of the property must cover the costs of repairs for each violation.
The complex still can appeal for more time to complete repairs at the end of the 60 days, city attorney Jerry Mills said. If more time is needed, the business would have to go back to the city board.
The 264-unit property at 110 Pine Knoll Drive initially had appealed the violations issued by Ridgeland code enforcement officers following an inspection over a two-week period in May. The violations were found in the exterior and unoccupied units.
After the board's vote, Lawson Hester, attorney for the apartments' parent company, Baymeadows LLC, said his client will continue to make maintenance its main issue in order to meet city requirements.
Hester said his client estimated the cost of such repairs to exceed $1 million, an amount of money the company doesn't have at this point.
City officials said they are not interested in condemning the property but want the codes followed and repairs made.
With violations ranging from peeling paint and rotten wood to sewage and water leaks, the apartments were served with a notice in June by the city's community development department.
Baymeadows resident Peggy Green said she hopes the complex will make repairs.
"But I'm still going to move," she said.
Green, 31, has lived in the apartment complex for three weeks. In that time, she has dealt with problems such as mold in her refrigerator and corroded doors.
"They're really not taking care of the property," she said. "You really can't get anything done."
Latesha Fleming said she and her family have lived at the complex for about a year.
Other than two problems over that year, Fleming, 16, said she is fine living there.
"The air had been out for a while," the Ridgeland High School student said.
Fleming said it took a week for a response from maintenance after the family had complained.
"So they moved us into another apartment," Fleming said, adding that she and her family are now back in their original apartment where the "air is working fine."
In 2006, the same complex was issued 73 code violations by city officials.
Chris Ramsey, a building and code enforcement inspector for the city, said one of those violations include green water collecting in an empty swimming pool.
That same violation was found in this year's inspection, Ramsey said. After viewing recent photos from the pool, Ramsey said it appears the problem was resolved.
CL
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Three Things About Islam
This video comes to you via Youtube by way of The Hayride and it tells every Christian what they already know in their heart to be true: "You are being hunted and your way of life is being threatened!"
Pick up a book people. This IS happening.
Take the next 8 minutes and learn some new terminology. After you finish that, read up on the concept of Taqiyya by clicking HERE . It's a pretty long article by Warner MacKenzie, but well worth printing and keeping as a reference.
Pick up a book people. This IS happening.
Take the next 8 minutes and learn some new terminology. After you finish that, read up on the concept of Taqiyya by clicking HERE . It's a pretty long article by Warner MacKenzie, but well worth printing and keeping as a reference.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
And you thought your commute was bad!
I was sitting in traffic this morning on 220 feeling sorry for myself. I was late for work and wishing I had a James Bond-like button on the dashboard that would turn my Toyota into a helicopter.
But, then I read this:
Massive traffic jam in China hits day 10
BEIJING — A massive traffic jam in north China that stretches for dozens of miles and hit its 10-day mark today stems from road construction in Beijing that won’t be finished until the middle of next month, an official said.
Bumper-to-bumper gridlock spanning for 60 miles with cars moving little more than a half-mile a day at one point has improved since this weekend, said Zhang Minghai, director of Zhangjiakou city’s Traffic Management Bureau general office.
But he said he wasn’t sure when the situation along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway would return to normal.
The traffic jam started Aug. 14 on a stretch of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway. That section has frequently been congested, especially after large coalfields were discovered in Inner Mongolia, Zhang said. Traffic volume has increased 40 percent every year.
Drivers stranded in the gridlock in the Inner Mongolia region and Hebei province, headed toward Beijing, passed the time sleeping, walking around, or playing cards and chess. Local villagers were doing brisk business selling instant noodles, boxed lunches and snacks, weaving between the parked trucks on bicycles.
The highway construction in Beijing that is restricting inbound traffic flow and causing the jam “will not be finished until Sept. 17,” he said.
Authorities were trying to speed up traffic by allowing more trucks to enter Beijing, especially at night, Zhang said. They also asked trucking companies to suspend operations and advised drivers to take alternate routes.
China’s roadways are increasingly overburdened as the number of private vehicles booms along with commercial truck traffic hauling materials like coal and food to cities. Traffic slowdowns because of construction and accidents are common, though a 10-day traffic jam is unusual even in China.
MBJ
Monday, August 23, 2010
Grace Presbyterian to hold Rummage and Bake Sale to benefit Women's Ministries Mission.
The 2nd Annual Grace Chapel Presbyterian Church Rummage Sale and Bake Sale will be Saturday, August 28th. The church is located at Highway 463 across from Hilton Garden Inn in Madison. The rummage and bake sale is from 6am to 12 noon. ** NO EARLY BIRDS, CASH ONLY **
Items for sale include but not limited to: baby clothes, home accessories, furniture, coats, kitchen items, jewelry, toys, electronics, and baked goods
All proceeds benefit Women's Ministries Mission projects. For more information call the church office at 601-856-7223
Items for sale include but not limited to: baby clothes, home accessories, furniture, coats, kitchen items, jewelry, toys, electronics, and baked goods
All proceeds benefit Women's Ministries Mission projects. For more information call the church office at 601-856-7223
Teen involved in fatal wreck not charged with crime
Memorial services were held Saturday for a teacher killed in a head-on collision. The wreck occurred Tuesday afternoon on River Thames Road off Old Canton Road in Jackson.
Leigh Anne Ward taught computer classes to elementary students at Madison-Ridgeland Academy for 12 years. Funeral services were held Saturday morning at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison.
Police believe the 19 year old driver of a silver truck crossed the center line and crashed into Ward. Both vehicles landed on their side in a homeowner's front yard.
Jackson Police Officer Colendula Green said the driver has not been charged with a crime. The 19 year old's identity has not been released.
WLBT
Leigh Anne Ward taught computer classes to elementary students at Madison-Ridgeland Academy for 12 years. Funeral services were held Saturday morning at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison.
Police believe the 19 year old driver of a silver truck crossed the center line and crashed into Ward. Both vehicles landed on their side in a homeowner's front yard.
Jackson Police Officer Colendula Green said the driver has not been charged with a crime. The 19 year old's identity has not been released.
WLBT
Cyclist Curing Cancer Century Ride to be held in Clinton on September 18.
The Cyclists Curing Cancer Century Ride takes place on Saturday, September 18th, starting at 7:30 a.m.
The ride begins at the Baptist Healthplex in Clinton, Mississippi, and stretches south along the Natchez Trace Parkway. Bikers can choose to ride 25, 50, 62 or 100 miles to benefit Baptist Cancer Services’ Serenity Garden for cancer patients and their families. All participants will receive a Century Ride t-shirt and will enjoy lunch after the event. Rest stops along the route will be well stocked with water and snacks.
Early registration and packet pick-up will be held Friday, September 17, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. at the Hederman Cancer Center at Baptist Medical Center on North State Street in Jackson. Registration will also be available at the Baptist Healthplex Saturday morning prior to the ride.
The Serenity Garden, located directly outside the Hederman Cancer Center, offers a private, secluded area where cancer patients and their families can enjoy peace and quiet, fresh air and a place to “escape.”
This year’s riders also have the opportunity to ride in honor or in memory of someone who has battled cancer. For a $10 donation, the rider's honoree name will be displayed on the biking jersey.
For more information call 601.968.1248
The ride begins at the Baptist Healthplex in Clinton, Mississippi, and stretches south along the Natchez Trace Parkway. Bikers can choose to ride 25, 50, 62 or 100 miles to benefit Baptist Cancer Services’ Serenity Garden for cancer patients and their families. All participants will receive a Century Ride t-shirt and will enjoy lunch after the event. Rest stops along the route will be well stocked with water and snacks.
Early registration and packet pick-up will be held Friday, September 17, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. at the Hederman Cancer Center at Baptist Medical Center on North State Street in Jackson. Registration will also be available at the Baptist Healthplex Saturday morning prior to the ride.
The Serenity Garden, located directly outside the Hederman Cancer Center, offers a private, secluded area where cancer patients and their families can enjoy peace and quiet, fresh air and a place to “escape.”
This year’s riders also have the opportunity to ride in honor or in memory of someone who has battled cancer. For a $10 donation, the rider's honoree name will be displayed on the biking jersey.
For more information call 601.968.1248
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Madison County Teen Returns from 'Peace Mission' to North Korea
According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, Jonathan met former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung three years ago and suggested planting chestnut trees on the Korean peninsula. In the letter that Jonathan hoped to give to Kim Jong Il, he wrote that Kim Dae-jung talked with him about his "sunshine policy" of peaceful coexistence with the North. The letter went on to say,"He promised he would take me with him next time he went to the DPRK, but sadly he passed away last year. I'd like to carry on his dream."
Jonathan's father, Hyoung Lee, discussed his feelings about his son's desire to travel to North Korea.
"When growing up, I was always taught, don't talk or associate with any North Korean people," he said. "So this is kind of shocking to me that my son wants to go in. Honestly I haven't slept for a few weeks after he said he wants to go."
Although Jonathan didn't get the opportunity to meet Kim Jong Il, he was able to travel to the DMZ and pitch his idea to other North Korean officials. Upon his arrival back in Beijing a week later, Jonathan was met by a crowd of reporters anxious to hear about his adventure.
"On this trip, I discovered that both sides want reunification, and that Korea is one," he said. "So I see hope on the Korean peninsula. I went to several places, but the place that made the biggest impression on me was the DMZ. It is where I hope that there will be a children's peace forest one day."
When asked about his interactions with the North Korean government officials, Jonathan said, "They seemed pretty impressed with my idea, but they said that first you would have to sign a peace treaty between North Korea and America because they are still at war with eachother officially, and then you could plant a children's peace forest after the peace treaty. But right now you can't do it."
The lack of diplomatic relations between North Korea and the U.S. makes private visits to the North by Americans extremely rare. In recent months, North Korea has in fact detained four Americans for illegal entry, and one is still in prison there. While both of Jonathan's parents shared concerns about the family's safety on the trip, those fears turned out not to be an issue. In fact, Jonathan's mother, Melissa Lee, said the trip was a moving experience.
"For him to want to do this on his own, I'm fairly proud of him," she said. "He may not have met the commander, but the fact that he did it was something."
Despite the vast political obstacles that exist between the U.S. and North Korea, Jonathan said he'll continue pushing the idea for a peace forest to allow interaction between children from the two sides, and hopes to visit North Korea again next year.
VOA
Thursday, August 19, 2010
From the Goldberg File: Making a Mosquery of the Truth
BY: Jonah Goldberg
I cannot be alone in thinking that the mosque debate is getting really old. But since I still seem to be in the minority, here are three quick points that I think need to be given more air.
1. The liberals are the ideologues on this. Michael Bloomberg and Barack Obama have claimed countless times that they are non-ideological pragmatists. But their position, right or wrong, is wildly ideological. Meanwhile, conservatives who say, "Fine, build your mosque, just not right there," are the pragmatists. But conservative pragmatism is never recognized as such if it breaks with the liberal party line. When conservatism breaks with liberalism, it must be denounced as ideology or, of course, bigotry.
2. Stop calling it a mosque. Defenders of Cordoba House sometimes say, "It's not a mosque, it's a cultural-affairs center with a prayer room," or some such, as if this were a defense. To me, that makes it worse, not better. If this were some small, one-story mosque for the handful of Muslims living nearby to pray in, the arguments over freedom of religion would have more merit. But this would be a 13-story institution with an obvious political component to it. That strikes me as gaudy and an invitation to mischief. This is another point I think non-bigoted Americans understand better than the condescending supporters of the mosque.
3. The staggering hypocrisy of liberals is really an amazing thing. Everywhere you look, you hear these scandalized liberals talking as if it were beyond the pale to criticize religion. You'd never know that these overnight stalwarts of religious freedom had been demonizing Christian conservatives, Mormons, and increasingly orthodox Jews for years. It's as if these people never wanted to ban a crèche, outlaw a Christian group, or claim that Jewish supporters of Israel suffer from dual loyalties. I'm not making a two-wrongs-make-a-right point here. I do think that some of the rhetoric on the right goes too far -- Newt's Nazi analogy, for instance. But it is amazing how establishment liberalism can spend years demonizing organized religion in this country only to turn on a dime when it comes to defending the Islamic equivalent of NikeTown two blocks from Ground Zero.
1. The liberals are the ideologues on this. Michael Bloomberg and Barack Obama have claimed countless times that they are non-ideological pragmatists. But their position, right or wrong, is wildly ideological. Meanwhile, conservatives who say, "Fine, build your mosque, just not right there," are the pragmatists. But conservative pragmatism is never recognized as such if it breaks with the liberal party line. When conservatism breaks with liberalism, it must be denounced as ideology or, of course, bigotry.
2. Stop calling it a mosque. Defenders of Cordoba House sometimes say, "It's not a mosque, it's a cultural-affairs center with a prayer room," or some such, as if this were a defense. To me, that makes it worse, not better. If this were some small, one-story mosque for the handful of Muslims living nearby to pray in, the arguments over freedom of religion would have more merit. But this would be a 13-story institution with an obvious political component to it. That strikes me as gaudy and an invitation to mischief. This is another point I think non-bigoted Americans understand better than the condescending supporters of the mosque.
3. The staggering hypocrisy of liberals is really an amazing thing. Everywhere you look, you hear these scandalized liberals talking as if it were beyond the pale to criticize religion. You'd never know that these overnight stalwarts of religious freedom had been demonizing Christian conservatives, Mormons, and increasingly orthodox Jews for years. It's as if these people never wanted to ban a crèche, outlaw a Christian group, or claim that Jewish supporters of Israel suffer from dual loyalties. I'm not making a two-wrongs-make-a-right point here. I do think that some of the rhetoric on the right goes too far -- Newt's Nazi analogy, for instance. But it is amazing how establishment liberalism can spend years demonizing organized religion in this country only to turn on a dime when it comes to defending the Islamic equivalent of NikeTown two blocks from Ground Zero.
Canton OKs rezoning for new apartments, Madison County Schools and South Madison Fire District plans to appeal.
Complex to be inside school zone; district plans appeal
CANTON — Canton aldermen on Tuesday approved a rezoning that clears the way for an apartment complex on land that sits inside the Madison County school zone, over protests from both school and nearby fire protection officials.
By a 6-1 vote, the Board of Aldermen granted the change in zoning for 23 acres proposed for apartments within a 63-acre commercial development planned by First Choice Development. Attorney Ron Farris said the "high-end, luxury multi-family community" is part of the $40 million development that will be built in the Sowell Road area just east of I-55.
Attorney John Hooks said the school district is concerned about the number of students that could flood nearby schools. "We still have not received details of the number of students utilizing the Madison County schools. It's critical for schools to prepare," he said.
"We have no specifics (about the apartments). We still don't have anything but platitudes and rambling projections," Hooks said.
"You don't stop growth because the school district doesn't want more children to educate," Farris said, adding that at most the likelihood is 60 to 61 additional students would enter Madison County schools from the apartments.
John Scanlon, the attorney for the South Madison Fire Protection District at Gluckstadt, said the volunteer department has concerns over fire safety. An apartment complex could affect the fire insurance rating in the area that the Gluckstadt department is working to lower, he said.
"If the fire insurance rating is affected, it will adversely affect the residents of the fire district and the city of Canton," said Gluckstadt resident Kerry Minninger, a member of the volunteer department. "We've put in a lot of work to improve fire protections. We would ask the aldermen to consider that."
Farris disputed the chance of a change in the area's fire rating, which would increase homeowners' insurance rates. "There is no negative impact on public safety. There is no proof that the fire rating will be lowered."
Canton Alderman Billy Myers said he supports the commercial development but voted against the rezoning because of the problems that can arise from apartments.
"It's a proven fact that no matter the intent from the start, apartments become problems in any city," said Myers, who works with the Madison County Sheriff's Department. He said deputies answer frequent calls to another apartment complex in Canton that isn't far from the Sowell Road area.
Madison County School Superintendent Mike Kent said the district plans to appeal the Board of Aldermen's decision to Madison County Circuit Court. Scanlon said the fire district will join that appeal to halt the rezoning.
CL
CANTON — Canton aldermen on Tuesday approved a rezoning that clears the way for an apartment complex on land that sits inside the Madison County school zone, over protests from both school and nearby fire protection officials.
By a 6-1 vote, the Board of Aldermen granted the change in zoning for 23 acres proposed for apartments within a 63-acre commercial development planned by First Choice Development. Attorney Ron Farris said the "high-end, luxury multi-family community" is part of the $40 million development that will be built in the Sowell Road area just east of I-55.
Attorney John Hooks said the school district is concerned about the number of students that could flood nearby schools. "We still have not received details of the number of students utilizing the Madison County schools. It's critical for schools to prepare," he said.
"We have no specifics (about the apartments). We still don't have anything but platitudes and rambling projections," Hooks said.
"You don't stop growth because the school district doesn't want more children to educate," Farris said, adding that at most the likelihood is 60 to 61 additional students would enter Madison County schools from the apartments.
John Scanlon, the attorney for the South Madison Fire Protection District at Gluckstadt, said the volunteer department has concerns over fire safety. An apartment complex could affect the fire insurance rating in the area that the Gluckstadt department is working to lower, he said.
"If the fire insurance rating is affected, it will adversely affect the residents of the fire district and the city of Canton," said Gluckstadt resident Kerry Minninger, a member of the volunteer department. "We've put in a lot of work to improve fire protections. We would ask the aldermen to consider that."
Farris disputed the chance of a change in the area's fire rating, which would increase homeowners' insurance rates. "There is no negative impact on public safety. There is no proof that the fire rating will be lowered."
Canton Alderman Billy Myers said he supports the commercial development but voted against the rezoning because of the problems that can arise from apartments.
"It's a proven fact that no matter the intent from the start, apartments become problems in any city," said Myers, who works with the Madison County Sheriff's Department. He said deputies answer frequent calls to another apartment complex in Canton that isn't far from the Sowell Road area.
Madison County School Superintendent Mike Kent said the district plans to appeal the Board of Aldermen's decision to Madison County Circuit Court. Scanlon said the fire district will join that appeal to halt the rezoning.
CL
Opinion: The Separation of Islamophilia from State
By George Neumayr
By modern secularist standards, Barack Obama's boosterism for Islam violates the "separation between Church and state." Had George W. Bush held a rosary and modest fish dinner at the White House to mark the beginning of Lent, the ACLU left would have freaked out. But these same secularists didn't mind Barack's "Iftar dinner" last Friday night.
That is, until he wimped out on his endorsement of the Ground Zero mosque. Now his dinner looks to them more like the production of Ishtar, as finger-to-the-wind Dems cravenly scramble for cover. The search is on for a "compromise." Perhaps the self-styled Solomonic Obama can convince the mosque planners to transfer their property rights to NASA. Administrator Charles Bolden could then turn the land into a satellite office for contractors who pursue the space agency's "perhaps foremost" mission (as explained to him by Obama): "to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science…and math and engineering."
The moment one thinks this presidency has hit the bottom of grim parody it finds a new one. It is hard to keep track of them at this point, but any list of the White House's greatest Islamophilic hits would have to include: wanting a civilian jury trial for the 9/11 planners, refusing to identify radical Islam as a terrorist motive, endorsing the concept of jihad, fretting over the loss of "diversity" after the Fort Hood shooting, and vacationing through the fallout of an aborted Christmas day bombing over Detroit.
The White House's ideologically willful self-delusion about radical Islam is staggering. Here, for example, is its self-reporting at whitehouse.gov about the Ramadan dinner: "Last night, President Obama continued the White House tradition of hosting an Iftar -- the meal that breaks the day of fasting --celebrating Ramadan in the State Dining Room." Continued a tradition? Exactly which White House tradition is that?
The answer: Obama was referring not to a White House "tradition" but to one distant event that he carefully left vague: Thomas Jefferson's war negotiations with Tunisian envoy Sidi Soliman Mellimelli.
Jefferson, desperate to end the Barbary war with Islamic pirates, invited Mellimelli to Washington for negotiations. According to Gaye Wilson, the visit put Jefferson and his staff on the spot: James Madison, then the Secretary of State, had to field Mellimelli's request for "concubines." Jefferson told shocked colleagues to calm down; after all, peace with the Barbary pirates required passing "unnoticed the irregular conduct of their ministers." Mellimelli, in his own way, was grateful. After hearing some gossip about the wan mood of the childless Madisons, he "flung his 'magical' cloak around Dolley Madison and murmured an incantation that promised she would bear a male child. His conjuring, however, did not work."
The war negotiations happened to coincide with Ramadan. Consequently, a scheduled dinner at the White House had to be moved back from "half after three" to "precisely at sunset" in order for Mellimelli to show up.
While it is true that the basically agnostic Jefferson was an arrogant secularist in embryo (the type on display now who dislikes all religions save Islam), he was under no illusions about jihadists. The Obama White House makes references to the "Koran" Jefferson owned, as if he had purchased it for religious edification. The truth is that he purchased it for self-protection: he wanted to understand the attitudes and war tactics of the Barbary pirates.
The cocky frat-boy "Republican" on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, a hopelessly smug lightweight who tries to weigh in on the "big issues" of the day when not playing early-morning grabass with his equally shallow but self-important guests, has said repeatedly that the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment to protect projects like the Ground Zero mosque. No, they didn't. "Morning Joe" is mistaking Thurgood Marshall's "living" Constitution for theirs.
While the Founding Fathers certainly didn't want anyone coerced in matters of faith, they wrote it to protect the states from a future federal government that might swoop down and crush the public religious life of majorities in those states. (And, by the way, let's cut the PC crap about Jefferson as the father of the First Amendment; he wasn't even at the Constitutional Convention. He was in France as an ambassador, gazing with approval at budding French Revolutionaries.) For many decades after the Constitution was enacted several states still had religious litmus tests for public office and sent tax dollars directly to the churches of their choice.
In other words, it is the very First Amendment that Scarborough mangles which permits New Yorkers to block the construction of a mosque. The First Amendment was designed to protect the majority from the tyranny of a religious minority favored by the federal government. What radical Islam's useful idiots in the White House and the press call "religious freedom," the founders would have called insanely dumb religious relativism and self-hating stupidity.
TAS
By modern secularist standards, Barack Obama's boosterism for Islam violates the "separation between Church and state." Had George W. Bush held a rosary and modest fish dinner at the White House to mark the beginning of Lent, the ACLU left would have freaked out. But these same secularists didn't mind Barack's "Iftar dinner" last Friday night.
That is, until he wimped out on his endorsement of the Ground Zero mosque. Now his dinner looks to them more like the production of Ishtar, as finger-to-the-wind Dems cravenly scramble for cover. The search is on for a "compromise." Perhaps the self-styled Solomonic Obama can convince the mosque planners to transfer their property rights to NASA. Administrator Charles Bolden could then turn the land into a satellite office for contractors who pursue the space agency's "perhaps foremost" mission (as explained to him by Obama): "to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science…and math and engineering."
The moment one thinks this presidency has hit the bottom of grim parody it finds a new one. It is hard to keep track of them at this point, but any list of the White House's greatest Islamophilic hits would have to include: wanting a civilian jury trial for the 9/11 planners, refusing to identify radical Islam as a terrorist motive, endorsing the concept of jihad, fretting over the loss of "diversity" after the Fort Hood shooting, and vacationing through the fallout of an aborted Christmas day bombing over Detroit.
The White House's ideologically willful self-delusion about radical Islam is staggering. Here, for example, is its self-reporting at whitehouse.gov about the Ramadan dinner: "Last night, President Obama continued the White House tradition of hosting an Iftar -- the meal that breaks the day of fasting --celebrating Ramadan in the State Dining Room." Continued a tradition? Exactly which White House tradition is that?
The answer: Obama was referring not to a White House "tradition" but to one distant event that he carefully left vague: Thomas Jefferson's war negotiations with Tunisian envoy Sidi Soliman Mellimelli.
Jefferson, desperate to end the Barbary war with Islamic pirates, invited Mellimelli to Washington for negotiations. According to Gaye Wilson, the visit put Jefferson and his staff on the spot: James Madison, then the Secretary of State, had to field Mellimelli's request for "concubines." Jefferson told shocked colleagues to calm down; after all, peace with the Barbary pirates required passing "unnoticed the irregular conduct of their ministers." Mellimelli, in his own way, was grateful. After hearing some gossip about the wan mood of the childless Madisons, he "flung his 'magical' cloak around Dolley Madison and murmured an incantation that promised she would bear a male child. His conjuring, however, did not work."
The war negotiations happened to coincide with Ramadan. Consequently, a scheduled dinner at the White House had to be moved back from "half after three" to "precisely at sunset" in order for Mellimelli to show up.
While it is true that the basically agnostic Jefferson was an arrogant secularist in embryo (the type on display now who dislikes all religions save Islam), he was under no illusions about jihadists. The Obama White House makes references to the "Koran" Jefferson owned, as if he had purchased it for religious edification. The truth is that he purchased it for self-protection: he wanted to understand the attitudes and war tactics of the Barbary pirates.
The cocky frat-boy "Republican" on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, a hopelessly smug lightweight who tries to weigh in on the "big issues" of the day when not playing early-morning grabass with his equally shallow but self-important guests, has said repeatedly that the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment to protect projects like the Ground Zero mosque. No, they didn't. "Morning Joe" is mistaking Thurgood Marshall's "living" Constitution for theirs.
While the Founding Fathers certainly didn't want anyone coerced in matters of faith, they wrote it to protect the states from a future federal government that might swoop down and crush the public religious life of majorities in those states. (And, by the way, let's cut the PC crap about Jefferson as the father of the First Amendment; he wasn't even at the Constitutional Convention. He was in France as an ambassador, gazing with approval at budding French Revolutionaries.) For many decades after the Constitution was enacted several states still had religious litmus tests for public office and sent tax dollars directly to the churches of their choice.
In other words, it is the very First Amendment that Scarborough mangles which permits New Yorkers to block the construction of a mosque. The First Amendment was designed to protect the majority from the tyranny of a religious minority favored by the federal government. What radical Islam's useful idiots in the White House and the press call "religious freedom," the founders would have called insanely dumb religious relativism and self-hating stupidity.
TAS
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Harper featured in new GOP video with other House Republicans
Mississippi District 3 Congressman Gregg Harper recently joined other House Republicans in a new video promoting GOP solutions. From his office in Washington, Harper addressed the issues of individual freedom and protecting family values as a member of the Judiciary Committee.
A Tea Party Manifesto
By DICK ARMEY AND MATT KIBBE
On Feb. 9, 2009, Mary Rakovich, a recently laid-off automotive engineer, set out for a convention center in Fort Myers, Fla. with protest signs, a cooler of water and the courage of her convictions. She felt compelled to act, having grown increasingly alarmed at the explosion of earmarks, bailouts and government spending in the waning years of the Bush administration. President Barack Obama, joined by then-Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, was in town promoting his plan to spend a trillion dollars in borrowed money to "stimulate" the economy.
Mary didn't know it, but she was on the front lines of a grass-roots revolution that was brewing across the nation. More than 3,000 miles away, Keli Carender, a young Seattle school teacher and a member of a local comedy improv troupe, was feeling equally frustrated. She started to organize like-minded citizens. "Our nation's fiscal path is just not sustainable," she said. "You can't continue to spend money you don't have indefinitely."
Today the ranks of this citizen rebellion can be counted in the millions. The rebellion's name derives from the glorious rant of CNBC commentator Rick Santelli, who in February 2009 called for a new "tea party" from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. By doing so he reminded all of us that America was founded on the revolutionary principle of citizen participation, citizen activism and the primacy of the individual over the government. That's the tea party ethos.
The tea party movement has blossomed into a powerful social phenomenon because it is leaderless—not directed by any one mind, political party or parochial agenda.
The criteria for membership are straightforward: Stay true to principle even when it proves inconvenient, be assertive but respectful, add value and don't taking credit for other people's work. Our community is built on the Trader Principle: We associate by mutual consent, to further shared goals of restoring fiscal responsibility and constitutionally limited government. These were the principles that enabled the Sept. 12, 2009 taxpayer march on Washington to be one of the largest political protests in the history of our nation's capital.
The many branches of the tea party movement have created a virtual marketplace for new ideas, effective innovations and creative tactics. Best practices come from the ground up, around kitchen tables, from Facebook friends, at weekly book clubs, or on Twitter feeds. This is beautiful chaos—or, as the Nobel Prize-winning economist F.A. Hayek put it, "spontaneous order."
Decentralization, not top-down hierarchy, is the best way to maximize the contributions of people and their personal knowledge. Let the leaders be the activists who have the best knowledge of local personalities and issues. In the real world, this is common sense. In Washington, D.C., this is considered radical.
The big-government crowd is drawn to the compulsory nature of centralized authority. They can't imagine an undirected social order. Someone needs to be in charge—someone who knows better. Big government is audacious and conceited.
By definition, government is the means by which citizens are forced to do that which they would not do voluntarily. Like pay high taxes. Or redistribute tax dollars to bail out the broken, bloated pension systems of state government employees. Or purchase, by federal mandate, a government-defined health-insurance plan that is unaffordable, unnecessary or unwanted.
For the left, and for today's Democratic Party, every solution to every perceived problem involves more government—top-down dictates from bureaucrats presumed to know better what you need. Tea partiers reject this nanny state philosophy of redistribution and control because it is bankrupting our country.
While the tea party is not a formal political party, local networks across the nation have moved beyond protests and turned to more practical matters of political accountability. Already, particularly in Republican primaries, fed-up Americans are turning out at the polls to vote out the big spenders. They are supporting candidates who have signed the Contract From America, a statement of policy principles generated online by hundreds of thousands of grass-roots activists.
Published in April, the Contract amounts to a tea party "seal of approval." It demands fiscal policies that limit government, restrain spending, promote market reforms in health care—and oppose ObamaCare, tax hikes and cap-and-trade restrictions that will kill job creation and stunt economic growth. Candidates who have signed the Contract—including Marco Rubio in Florida, Mike Lee in Utah and Tim Scott in South Carolina—have defeated Republican big spenders in primary elections all across the nation.
These young legislative entrepreneurs will shift the balance in the next Congress, bringing with them a more serious, adult commitment to responsible, restrained government.
But let us be clear about one thing: The tea party movement is not seeking a junior partnership with the Republican Party, but a hostile takeover of it.
The American values of individual freedom, fiscal responsibility and limited government bind the ranks of our movement. That makes the tea party better than a political party. It is a growing community that can sustain itself after November, ensuring a better means of holding a new generation of elected officials accountable.
Mr. Armey, a former House Republican majority leader, is chairman of Freedomworks. Mr. Kibbe is president and CEO of Freedomworks. They are the authors of "Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto," out today from HarperCollins.
WSJ
Friday, August 13, 2010
Ex-Animal Control Officer Pleads Guilty
Former Canton animal control officer Alonzo Esco pleaded guilty today to one count of animal cruelty and one count of illegal dumping in connection with an animal-cruelty case that drew strong condemnation from animal-welfare groups.
The city of Canton fired Esco in January after a Madison County Sheriff's Department investigation turned up nearly 100 dogs that had been shot and dumped in drainage ditches and other locations around Canton. In June, police charged him with four counts of animal cruelty and five counts of illegal dumping, all misdemeanors.
Justice Court Judge Tommy Faulkner talked to attorneys in his chambers for roughly 10 minutes before Esco's hearing. Esco faces up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine for the animal cruelty count and a fine of between $200 and $400 for the dumping charge. Faulkner postponed Esco's sentencing until Oct. 13.
Esco, wearing a white shirt and a floral-patterned tie, did not speak during the hearing or later outside the courtroom when reporters questioned him.
Giwada Williams, who says that her dog was among those Esco killed, told reporters outside the court that she was not satisfied with Esco's plea.
"Enough is enough," Williams said. "You don't treat animals like they're nothing. Right now, I'm very, very angry."
JFP
The city of Canton fired Esco in January after a Madison County Sheriff's Department investigation turned up nearly 100 dogs that had been shot and dumped in drainage ditches and other locations around Canton. In June, police charged him with four counts of animal cruelty and five counts of illegal dumping, all misdemeanors.
Justice Court Judge Tommy Faulkner talked to attorneys in his chambers for roughly 10 minutes before Esco's hearing. Esco faces up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine for the animal cruelty count and a fine of between $200 and $400 for the dumping charge. Faulkner postponed Esco's sentencing until Oct. 13.
Esco, wearing a white shirt and a floral-patterned tie, did not speak during the hearing or later outside the courtroom when reporters questioned him.
Giwada Williams, who says that her dog was among those Esco killed, told reporters outside the court that she was not satisfied with Esco's plea.
"Enough is enough," Williams said. "You don't treat animals like they're nothing. Right now, I'm very, very angry."
JFP
Opinion: Awww!!! Mexico is Angry!
BY: Martha Donahue
Three cheers for Arizona !!!
The shoe is on the other foot and the Mexicans from the Staten of Sonora, Mexico do not like it. Can you believe the nerve of these people? It's almost funny.
The State of Sonora is angry at the influx of Mexicans into Mexico. Nine state legislators from the Mexican State of Sonora traveled to Tucson to complain about Arizona's new employer crackdown on illegals from Mexico. It seems that many Mexican illegals are returning to their hometowns and the officials in the Sonora state government are ticked off.
A delegation of nine state legislators from Sonora was in Tucson on Tuesday to state that Arizona's new Employer Sanctions Law will have a devastating effect on the Mexican state. At a news conference, the legislators said that Sonora, - Arizona's southern neighbor - made up of mostly small towns - cannot handle the demand for housing, jobs and schools that it will face as Mexican workers return to their hometowns from the USA without jobs or money.
The Arizona law, which took effect Jan. 1, punishes Arizona employers who knowingly hire individuals without valid legal documents to work in the United States. Penalties include suspension of, or loss of, their business license.
The Mexican legislators are angry because their own citizens are returning to their hometowns, placing a burden on THEIR state government.
'How can Arizona pass a law like this?' asked Mexican Rep Leticia Amparano-Gamez, who represents Nogales. 'There is not one person living in Sonora who does not have a friend or relative working in Arizona ,' she said, speaking in Spanish.
'Mexico is not prepared for this, for the tremendous problems it will face as more and more Mexicans working in Arizona and who were sending money to their families return to their home-towns in Sonora without jobs,' she said. 'We are one family, socially and economically,' she said of the people of Sonora and Arizona.
Wrong! The United States is a sovereign nation, not a subsidiary of Mexico , and its taxpayers are not responsible for the welfare of Mexico's citizens. It's time for the Mexican government, and its citizens, to stop feeding parasitically off the United States and to start taking care of its/their own needs.
Too bad that other states within the USA don't pass a law just like that passed by Arizona. Maybe that's the answer, since our own Congress will do nothing!
New Immigration Laws: Read to the bottom or you will miss the message...
1. There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools.
2. All ballots will be in this nation's language.
3. All government business will be conducted in our language.
4. Non-residents will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here.
5. Non-citizens will NEVER be able to hold political office.
6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs. Any burdens will be deported.
7. Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount at least equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage.
8. If foreigners come here and buy land... options will be restricted. Certain parcels including waterfront property are reserved for citizens naturally born into this country.
9. Foreigners may have no protests; no demonstrations, no waving of a foreign flag, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies. These will lead to deportation.
10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be actively hunted & when caught, sent to jail until your deportation can be arranged. All assets will be taken from you.
Too strict ???
The above laws are current immigration laws of MEXICO !
MOU
Three cheers for Arizona !!!
The shoe is on the other foot and the Mexicans from the Staten of Sonora, Mexico do not like it. Can you believe the nerve of these people? It's almost funny.
The State of Sonora is angry at the influx of Mexicans into Mexico. Nine state legislators from the Mexican State of Sonora traveled to Tucson to complain about Arizona's new employer crackdown on illegals from Mexico. It seems that many Mexican illegals are returning to their hometowns and the officials in the Sonora state government are ticked off.
A delegation of nine state legislators from Sonora was in Tucson on Tuesday to state that Arizona's new Employer Sanctions Law will have a devastating effect on the Mexican state. At a news conference, the legislators said that Sonora, - Arizona's southern neighbor - made up of mostly small towns - cannot handle the demand for housing, jobs and schools that it will face as Mexican workers return to their hometowns from the USA without jobs or money.
The Arizona law, which took effect Jan. 1, punishes Arizona employers who knowingly hire individuals without valid legal documents to work in the United States. Penalties include suspension of, or loss of, their business license.
The Mexican legislators are angry because their own citizens are returning to their hometowns, placing a burden on THEIR state government.
'How can Arizona pass a law like this?' asked Mexican Rep Leticia Amparano-Gamez, who represents Nogales. 'There is not one person living in Sonora who does not have a friend or relative working in Arizona ,' she said, speaking in Spanish.
'Mexico is not prepared for this, for the tremendous problems it will face as more and more Mexicans working in Arizona and who were sending money to their families return to their home-towns in Sonora without jobs,' she said. 'We are one family, socially and economically,' she said of the people of Sonora and Arizona.
Wrong! The United States is a sovereign nation, not a subsidiary of Mexico , and its taxpayers are not responsible for the welfare of Mexico's citizens. It's time for the Mexican government, and its citizens, to stop feeding parasitically off the United States and to start taking care of its/their own needs.
Too bad that other states within the USA don't pass a law just like that passed by Arizona. Maybe that's the answer, since our own Congress will do nothing!
New Immigration Laws: Read to the bottom or you will miss the message...
1. There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools.
2. All ballots will be in this nation's language.
3. All government business will be conducted in our language.
4. Non-residents will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here.
5. Non-citizens will NEVER be able to hold political office.
6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs. Any burdens will be deported.
7. Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount at least equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage.
8. If foreigners come here and buy land... options will be restricted. Certain parcels including waterfront property are reserved for citizens naturally born into this country.
9. Foreigners may have no protests; no demonstrations, no waving of a foreign flag, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies. These will lead to deportation.
10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be actively hunted & when caught, sent to jail until your deportation can be arranged. All assets will be taken from you.
Too strict ???
The above laws are current immigration laws of MEXICO !
MOU
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Madison Police Arrest Man Accused Of Exposing Himself To Child
A man accused of trying to lure children into his car also exposed himself to one of the children in at least one of the incidents, Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest said.
Madison police said they arrested 49-year-old Ricky Davis, of Jackson, Friday during a traffic stop on Rice Road.
Davis was charged with two counts of attempted kidnapping and two counts of child exploitation.
Madison police officers spent most of last week looking for a man who was trying get children into his car in the Bradford and Sherbourne subdivisions, police said.
Judge Dale Danks set Davis' bond at $500,000 for each charge, totaling $2 million. Davis is being held at the Madison County Detention Center.
Danks said if Davis has not hired a lawyer by Thursday, he will assign a court-ordered attorney and schedule a preliminary hearing soon thereafter.
MSNBC
Feds funding Ground Zero imam's Mideast trip
Feisal Abdul Rauf is taking the publicly funded trip to foster "greater understanding" about Islam and Muslim communities in the United States, the State Department confirmed yesterday.
"He is a distinguished Muslim cleric," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, when asked about the journey, reportedly to include stops in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar.
"I think we are in the process of arranging for him to travel as part of this program, and it is to foster a greater understanding about the region around the world among Muslim-majority communities," he added.
Crowley said no fund-raising for the mosque and cultural center during the trip would be permitted. "That would not be something he could do as part of our program," he said.
Abdul Rauf said funds for the center will come from Muslims and members of his congregation.
But a London-based Arabic-language newspaper that interviewed Abdul Rauf reported that he says he also will collect money from Muslim and Arab nations around the world -- raising the possibility his goodwill mission could help him build contacts in oil-rich states.
"Does the State Department have any idea they are sending a guy to the Middle East who is going to be fund-raising perhaps among the very same people he will be meeting with?" asked Debra Burlingame, a 9/11 family member.
"We know he has a fund-raising association with Saudi Arabia," Burlingame said, noting that the Saudis have contributed money to underwrite programs by the American Society for Muslim Advancement, a not-for-profit that Abdul Rauf runs with his wife and that is one of the sponsors of the Ground Zero mosque. "He's going to the well, and how can they say they do or don't know what he's doing?"
Meanwhile, state regulators said the sale of an adjacent Con Ed building needed to complete the Ground Zero mosque -- as disclosed by The Post on Sunday -- might be subject to review after all, even as Mayor Bloomberg insisted the project has "nothing to do with Con Ed."
Public Service Commission spokeswoman Anne Dalton said state law requires the agency to sign off on the "transfer or lease" of any property a utility owns within its franchise area.
The question is whether Con Ed satisfied that requirement nearly four decades ago, when it granted a 99-year lease on the former substation site at 49-51 Park Place
NYP
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