Super size? Yes, please, say Mississippi lawmakers

The same day a judge blocked a ban on the sale of large, sugary drinks in New York City, senators in Mississippi approved, by a 50-1 vote, a bill that would prevent similar efforts in their state.

The legislation is known as the "Anti-Bloomberg" bill because the proposed ban in New York is supported by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"We believe there's enough regulation," said Mississippi state Sen. Tony Smith, the bill's author and a restaurant owner.

Community help needed for sickle cell group home

The Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee is on the verge of opening its first group home and the community's support is needed to push the project to the finishing point.

Located at 35 West Brooks Rd., the next step in the Foundation's expanding outreach effort was brought to my attention by TSD reader Mario Martin. I ran into him while on a supply run at Office Max.

Martin's an entertainment and real estate entrepreneur. After explaining that he had added security systems (Maximum Security) to his products and services line, Martin mentioned that the company had donated a state-of-the-art system to a house for the Sickle Cell Foundation.

Service, salutes and training to mark AKA Regional Conference

The 81st South Eastern Regional Conference of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. will convene in Memphis March 14-17.

The conference is expected to attract 3,000-plus sorority members from the 105-year-old international sorority's South Eastern Region – Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi (known as the "ATM.")

Additional guests are expected to pour into the "Bluff City" from various points – nationally and internationally. The conference theme is "Global Leadership Through Timeless Service: Let the Good Times Roll Through Timeless Service."

At odds: family & medical examiner; dispute death of Miss. mayoral candidate

The family of a Mississippi mayoral candidate claim that he died after being "beaten, dragged and burned," but it's an account a medical examiner disputed, saying "I don't know where that is coming from."

On Wednesday, authorities found Marco McMillian's body near a levee between Sherard and Rena Lara, two unincorporated communities about 15 minutes from Clarksdale. The 34-year-old McMillian had been running for mayor of Clarksdale, a city of about 18,000 people in northwestern Mississippi's Delta region.

His body was "set afire," according to his family, who said they twice met with a coroner.

40th Anniversary salute to African American Police Association

Since its inception as an official national commemoration nearly half a century ago, African American History Month has become something many of us take for granted.

But if one candle is enough to keep a bonfire going, we happened to stumble upon a small, refreshingly sincere, and humbly very powerful program at the Lambert Church of God In Christ this past Sunday (Feb. 24).

Matchbox size, Lambert is located "two blocks up Park from Airways and then to the right" on Keating Street in Orange Mound.

Police union taking it to the streets

The Memphis Police Association will conduct a public awareness protest at Poplar & Highland on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. to bring attention to what union president Michael Williams terms gross mismanagement by mayor AC Wharton Jr.'s administration.

The meet-and-greet encounter is a giant public handshake designed to increase the volume on the union's Wake Up, MEMPHIS! campaign.

"We think there has been a campaign going on to actually discredit the police in this city," said Williams. "We think there are a lot of things that aren't being addressed while running us down."

Cornerstone-Lester rift oozes out of hearing

Is it leadership, ineffective and insensitive teachers, cultural insensitivity, or all of the above?

All were touted as reasons of concern when a packed house of parents, children, religious leaders, educators and community advocates convened Saturday (Feb. 23) to participate in a legislative hearing chaired by State Rep. G.A. Hardaway Jr., at the Lester Community Center.

Time did not permit all to voice their concerns, but the 3½-hour buzz included testimonies from 12 parents, a current teacher, a former teacher, a minister and a community activist. Their stories reflected concerns about alleged inequities and unfair treatment impacting kindergarten through third graders at Cornerstone Prep Academy's Lester Campus.

New deadline for ‘The Teacher That Changed My Life’ essay contest

Did a teacher affect you so deeply that the course of your life was literally altered by the exchange?

Well, if so, and if you can relay that experience in 500 words or less, you have a shot at coming up a winner in an essay contest dubbed "The Teacher That Changed My Life!"

Juvenile Court settlement to get Town Hall airing Thursday

A Town Hall meeting is set for Thursday to discuss the recent agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Shelby County Juvenile Court.

The session, which County Commissioner Henri Brooks will host, will be held in the auditorium of the Memphis City Schools Board at 2597 Avery. It is slated for two hours and begins at 5 p.m.

At issue is a $4.5 million to $6.5 million settlement agreement that is a tied to a three-year Department of Justice (DOJ) study. According to the findings, Juvenile Court had shown systemic discrimination in its treatment of African-American children. Other children, the study concluded,

Hoops help for St. Jude

This week, The V Foundation for Cancer Research and ESPN are teaming up with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the fight against pediatric cancer by raising awareness and funds to support lifesaving work for children.

After tipping off Sunday and continuing through March 4, the NBA family – led by Hoops for St. Jude ambassadors and ESPN commentators – will engage fans through a partnership designed to advance cancer research and patient care benefitting children and families battling pediatric cancer. One hundred percent of donations to The V Foundation from this campaign will go directly towards cancer research benefitting St. Jude's patients.

Oratorical contest speaks to the value of education

Who says that young children don't know the importance of an education?

Recently, the Memphis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. held its 16th annual Oratorical Contest at Colonial Middle School with 34 fifth-graders from different schools throughout the Memphis area. While performing my job as the MC, I heard some very remarkable speeches from the participants.

They all spoke on this topic: "Though the odds may be stacked against the youth of today, education is the key."

Juneteenth scrutiny at African American history program

Juneteenth is an African-American celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States and is observed on June 19. It generally is linked to that month and day in 1865 and is associated with the enslaved in Galveston, Texas celebrating their freedom after learning that the Emancipation Proclamation had freed them two years earlier.

In observance of African American History Month, the New Juneteenth Committee hopes to separate fact from fiction as it commemorates the 20th Anniversary of Juneteenth in Memphis and the 150 Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation on Friday, Feb. 22, at Impact Baptist Church, 3759 Watkins Ave. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m.