From Millsaps College

An anonymous donor couple has established a $100,000 endowment in honor of Elise and William Winter to benefit Millsaps College public forums. The Elise and William Winter Speaker Series honors the spirit and determination of Elise and William Winter in their decades-long fight for a better Mississippi. The endowment, held at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, will help ensure that Millsaps can continue and expand opportunities for students, Jackson citizens, community leaders, and others to discuss together matters of public significance.

The gift was made following a much-celebrated forum held at Millsaps in November, 2012, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the historic Mississippi Education Reform Act of 1982. Entitled “Celebrating Education Reform: Thirty Years Later,” the Forum included former Governor William Winter; members of his staff known collectively as the “Boys of Spring,” including Dick Molpus of Jackson, John Henegan of Jackson, David Crews of Oxford, and Andy Mullins of Oxford; and Charles Overby, The Clarion-Ledger editor whose work covering the Act resulted in a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper.

Read more at Millsaps.edu

Pablo Picasso is quoted as saying “Every child is born an artist, the problem is to remain one once they grow up.” It seems the influential 20^th century painter has also had influence on Scott Allen, a Fondren artist who never gave up on a passion that’s been growing since he was a child.

Allen’s dad was a collector long before cable networks began calling his kind a “picker.” As a kid, Allen says his dad’s fondness for hand-painted porcelain signs helped to foster his own love of logos and lettering. “(It) probably has a lot to do with what I do now,” he says from the conference room of A+ Signs, the north Fondren company he purchased from Dale Howie earlier this year.

In the sixth grade, Allen was asked to design his elementary school graduation program. It was his teachers who bought him books and told him he could be anything he wanted to be. “I wasn’t any better in art than anyone else as a child, but the fact is, I never quit doing it,” he explains. In junior high, he spent time in his bedroom drawing houses, dragons and graphic novel comics. He thought he may become an architect. But, by the end of high school, so called common sense almost lead him into another field.

Allen took two semesters of college with nursing in mind, but the sterility of a hospital wouldn’t do. “Like most artists, my family was probably trying to talk some sense into me,” he says of the direction into the medical field. “(Art) is a scary career path.” As fate would have it, Allen was doing well in his elective drawing classes and liked design. Fast forward with a change of direction, USM art education in hand, and Allen began a career that’s included sign shop work for the last fifteen years.

When A+ owner Howie, a former boss of Allen’s, decided to retire, the 33 year-old had been contemplating his own small business. “Taking over Dale’s (business) was more common sense than to start with nothing,” he tells us. “This was the right time and I was at the right age where I could take over.” In early 2013, Allen essentially gained a client list, a shop full of equipment and the good will that A+ had earned over the last two decades.

Allen’s A+ is more creative and more hands-on, focusing on custom work from vehicle wraps to welded, one-of-a-kind signs. “A lot of people are looking for more technology, but I’m looking to be more analog,” he says. While his shop has the latest cutting edge equipment, Allen says he enjoys making stuff with paint and wood. “A lot of what I do now is a mix in sculpture, graphic design and architecture.”

His current project, a molded, resin commemorative piece, celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. Allen proposed a forty foot wing in the lobby for the occasion, but wasn’t chosen. “They did ask me to do a smaller version, though,” he says. 250 of them, as commemorative gifts, all individually cast, sanded, painted and adorned with images, all assembled in Allen’s shop. With a grandfather and father who were air traffic controllers, this project was significant to the South Jackson native, who could have himself been a 3^rd generation controller.

Allen’s work can also be seen in a Midtown mural, part of an Our Town grant through the National Endowment For the Arts. You’ll find two painted traffic signal boxes, one at Court and West, and most recently at Terry and Raymond Road, sponsored by the Greater Jackson Arts Council. And, Allen says he has an upcoming Fondren project in the works.

Asking Allen to speak to the aspiring creatives soon to graduate high school who are being told they’ll never make money as an artist, he reminisces. “I heard that my whole life,” Allen says. “For the longest period of time, I struggled with it. But there’s something to be said for sticking to it and working hard at it. And you can make a living. Persistence, hard work and a little luck: don’t be afraid to sacrifice – and it will pay off. I’m doing what I think I would want to do – regardless. I’m doing what I love.”

Britt | Photo: The Pink Rooster Gallery

by Jerrod Partridge

In the summer of 1963, Sammy Britt didn’t know that he was about to embark on a life-changing experience.  He was a delta boy going to school at the Memphis Academy of the Arts and headed up to Provincetown, Massachusetts to study painting with a man named Henry Hensche.  It was there at the Cape Cod School of Art that Britt first heard about painting in “light keys”.  Light keys could be compared to music keys.  Just as a piece of music may be written in a certain key, the painter can look for the specific key that describes the season, weather, and time of day.  It is with color and through direct observation that the painter can capture these light keys.

“Henry created a completely new language,” Britt says.  “He taught a new way of seeing and painting that was in contrast to the traditional tonal methods.”  Britt passionately describes this new language as a progressive step beyond Monet and the Impressionists.  “Henry Hensche spent his life believing in developing this language of light and color.”

It became his life passion as well.  Britt taught the art of seeing light through color for over 30 years at Delta State University, influencing countless young artists along the way.  Now we get to see a glimmer of his influence in the new exhibition “Mississippi Colorists” at The Cedars in Fondren through the month of May.  Included in the show will be work by Britt as well as Richard Kelso, Susan Russell, Bob Pennebaker and several other students and peers painting in their own version and understanding of light keys.

This exhibition will be a wonderful companion to the show “Old Masters to Monet: Three Centuries of French Painting from the Wadsworth Atheneum” currently hanging at the Mississippi Museum of Art which covers Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Century painting.  “Mississippi Colorists” will show paintings from the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century that were directly influenced by the work of some of the artists at the museum.

The reception for “Mississippi Colorists” will be on May 2 from 5-8pm at the Cedars, and is free and open to the public.  Hours of operation for the Cedars are Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 am-4:00 pm. May’s show is a part of The Four Seasons of The Cedars Performing and Visual Arts Series.

Jerrod Partridge is an artist and art instructor living and working in the Fondren neighborhood of Jackson.  His work can be seen at www.jerrodpartridge.com.

Crowe and Byrd

When David Byrd was a 12 year-old growing up in south east Kentucky, he dug coal dust out from under conveyor belts. His family had been in the business since the late 1800′s but two summers in 95° heat was a game changer for him. He says “It makes you really focus on going to college.” And so he did – graduating from Transylvania University in 2004, majoring in business and finance. Now Byrd, 40, is the new branch manager of BancorpSouth’s Medical Center Branch in Fondren.

Byrd’s has been in his new position for nearly a month and, according to the branch’s business development manager Vanda Crowe, he’s a quick start. “He’s learned it so fast, he’s almost telling me how to do things,” she laughs. “We’re so glad to have him here.”

The feeling seems mutual for Byrd, who has known Crowe through their involvement with the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership where both serve as ambassadors. “When the opportunity presented itself to come across the street, I thought it was fantastic,” Byrd says. “I can stay in Fondren where I’ve worked since 2008.” Byrd comes to BancorpSouth after serving as branch manager of Regions Bank (previously AmSouth Bank).

BancorpSouth, Byrd believes, is the right fit for his style. “I think this bank will allow me to develop more in-depth relationships with customers,” he explains. “It’s a different way of banking here, more family oriented.”

And, the move gives him a new opportunity to help others. “I chose banking because I wanted to use my education to help people,” he says. “This is an important and privileged job. You’ve got your doctor, your priest and your banker. You tell them everything. Confidentially and trust is crucial.” Byrd thinks of the relationship in another way, calling customers “family.” “We make them feel comfortable here. And that says a huge amount about BancorpSouth. They honestly take care of their customers 110 percent.”

Crowe, a 36 year banking veteran, concurs: “Banking has evolved,” she says. “People don’t bank with banks: they bank with people.” Crowe explains there is no fine line. Simply put, BancorpSouth’s employees are a team. “I wear many hats and David will find out that he wears many hats, too. We will share in that role of bringing in new business and fostering relationships,” she tells us. (Jason Brooks, former branch manager, has been promoted to business development officer at the Colony Park branch in Ridgeland.)

Byrd says he is excited about the commitment BancorpSouth has made to Fondren. “The company has definitely pledged its support to this neighborhood, no question,” he says. And to the state: BancorpSouth announced this spring the “Grow Mississippi” 2013 loan pool. The $500 million dollar fund is earmarked for small business loans. Byrd calls this huge.

“Fondren is the perfect place for those funds to go. There’s such a huge diversity of small businesses here. It’s the perfect time to take advantage of these funds,” he said. According to a press release, the monies are allocated for the specific purpose of funding loans to businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to locate in our state, as well as for existing businesses looking to expand operations. Governor Phil Bryant has lauded the effort as key to bringing new jobs to the state.

Byrd looks with optimism at what lies ahead in his new role. “I want to continue to advance in my career, in a business banking and consumer banking position,” he says. “Here, you can do it all. It’s nice to know you can take care of customers no matter what their needs.” And even further down the road? “We’ll wait and see what it holds. But if I retire from BancorpSouth, that would be fine with me.”

Beyond the Banking Walls
Byrd and his wife moved to Jackson in 1997 so that she could attend law school. Now a partner with Rob McDuff downtown, the couple had always planned to return to her hometown of Waveland, but finding jobs here and Katrina destroying her family home kept them put. They’ve lived in Northeast Jackson, just beyond Fondren, since 1998.

As chair for the Fondren Association of Businesses Committee under Fondren Renaissance, Byrd is leading efforts to collect business data for a common, up-to-date directory of area merchants, restaurants and professional services. “Having us all under one umbrella streamlines things and put us all on the same page,” he says.

And, he’s a proud 4^th generation Kiwanian, serving as president of the North Jackson club. Kiwanis International focuses on the well-being of children worldwide and holds fundraisers throughout the year. Byrd is proud to say that 95% of money raised in Jackson stays in the tri-county area. His group volunteers monthly, cooking for the families who stay at Fondren’s Ronald McDonald House.

He always promised he’d be back. We figured we’d be without his talents for a few years at least. The truth is, he never wanted to leave to begin with. So begins the story of a chef from Dallas who has fallen in love with Jackson – and has returned with big plans and no intent to leave again.

Thirty two year-old Chef Jesse Houston is revealing his next adventure: a “really solid” restaurant concept in the works. “I have the name, the location, menus, uniforms, even layout and design of the space,” he says. “I just need backing.” According to Houston, there have been some talks and discussions but he’s still looking carefully at all of his options. “I’ve had some very interested people.” When pressed for more, he was tight lipped, but did say the idea is “very unique” and something very lacking in Jackson as a whole. “There’s one aspect of it not in Jackson, and another aspect, (you’ll find) only a couple of places out of the way too far to drive.”

As for the concept, Houston calls it “polished casual and inexpensive.” That means, he says, food on par with, if not better than, any fine dining around. “It will still be elevated, fun and exciting cuisine,” he explains. “I want it to be a neighborhood place locals flock to for a great meal. Starving artists can show up, have a great time, and feel like it won’t kill (their wallets).” And he hopes the restaurant will find its home in Fondren. “It’s a great artistic community. Absolutely a blast. Regardless, I’ll be here all the time.”

Until then, Houston is in the restaurant consulting business with one client thus far and two more in the works. He’ll work closely with Livingston Farmer’s Market and their planned community events. And, in the next two months, he’ll be the creative force behind three pop ups. From Asian inspired food truck fare with LurnyD’s Grille (think pork buns and Korean chicken wings), a Tom Ramsey/119 collab (details to come) and Pop Up Pizza – The Empire State Strikes Back! at Sal & Mookie’s.

If that isn’t enough, Houston will be part of a group of chefs that will travel to New York City during the June 8 Mississippi Picnic to cook at the James Beard house. He joins Dan Blumenthal, Tom Ramsey, Jeremy Enfinger, Nick Wallace, Mitchell Moore and Mike Roemhild for “Southern Comfort Redux.” Though it’s an honor to cook there, chefs provide their own food and pay their own way. Houston will visit the city for the first time. “I already have a giant itinerary of things I can’t afford or find time to do, but I’ll try to hit as many as I can,” he says.

Pop Up Pizza

Sal & Mookie’s once again will become Houston’s playground on April 29 with the return of Pop Up Pizza – The Empire State Strikes Back! “We always said we would do a second one,” he remembers. Counted as a customer favorite in all of the pop ups he has done, Houston says it’s a different atmosphere than he’s used to, but was a good time last August. “They have such a well-oiled machine that, I had to step away, let them do their thing and I just garnished the pizzas. Those guys are hossin’ it out, throwing dough around, getting them in the oven. It was crazy!”

Houston, Blumenthal and BRAVO! Chef Karl Gorline collaborate on pizzas (see the menu here.) “Karl is great,” Houston tells us. “We think a lot alike in terms of ridiculousness.” Just how ridiculous? Houston says there’s a Tom Gha pie on the menu. “It’s coconut curry sauce, sauteed shrimp, bean sprouts, cilantro, jalapeno, mint and peanuts.” Then there’s the crawfish boil (mozzarella, crawfish tails, andouille, corn, crab boil aioli and fresh basil) and the pizza sandwich (a pizza on top of pizza!), Houston’s favorite, a white pie makes a return (mozzarella, Fontina, goat cheese, roasted garlic, chile flakes, truffle oil, fried sage and an over easy egg).

And in a nod to Ferrari-driving Chef Blumenthal, the menu includes the Ferrari California (chicken, bacon, avocado and pickled grapes). Houston jokingly says it’s his way of giving Blumenthal a hard time. The rest of the menu is something you’ll have to wait to see. “You want to bring back a couple of favorites, but let it be its own animal at the same time,” he explains, calling menu planning a challenge. “Where do you go from here?”

Last year, it was Sal & Mookie’s busiest day ever. Whatever the case this go around, Houston is happy to be back in the one-day business with the pizza professionals. “I’m always excited to work with Jeff, Dan and Karl and can’t wait to come back and sling some pies – or get out the way of pies being slung.” He says he’ll dedicate the event to Hal White, a long time Jackson restaurant staple who passed away last week. “It’s a huge loss and a devastating blow. I’m tired of awesome chefs passing away. It needs to stop happening.”

From There to Here

When Parlor Market restaurant took a different direction last fall, the change sent Houston, their executive chef, in search of a job. His initial idea was to open his own restaurant, but fear set in. “It’s scary to go into the unknown, so that won out,” he explains. So he took a position with the John Currence family of restaurants in Oxford. “It was a great opportunity with a great chef – and a great job,” Houston says. “But I never wanted to leave Jackson. I should have gone with my gut.”

Jackson diners’ guts have been in tune with Houston’s cuisine since May 2010 when the late Chef Craig Noone brought the Texas Culinary Academy graduate here as sous chef, and later, Chef de Cuisine. Houston kept his title out of respect long after Noone’s passing and assumed the lead role in late 2011.

After the brief stint in Oxford, Houston says he is coming back here for a sense of permanency. “I could go back to Dallas, but I never felt at home there,” he tells us. “It’s too big and it’s easy to disappear there.” Houston goes on to say that the Dallas food scene, in many ways, is “here today, gone tomorrow.” Jackson, he feels, is more his fit.

Here, he says, there’s a sense of community. Houston explains, “People support each other and like to collaborate. It’s easy to get to know a ton of people who you run in to randomly at a coffee shop or the grocery store. You get to know your customers and find out their likes and what they want. I really love it and love working with others here.”

Houston names Nick Wallace, Executive Chef at the King Edward Hilton Garden Inn, as a favorite collaborator. “Nick is probably the most talented chef in town but doesn’t get the recognition he deserves because he works in a hotel,” Houston offers. “I’m hoping he’ll get the chance to change that with his own restaurant soon. People need to know more about what that guy does; he’s an incredible chef.”

Part of what Houston says he loves about Jackson are creative and talented people like Wallace, Bradley Adair (Land Vs. Ocean), artists like Justin Schultz or bands like Taylor Hildebrand or Furrows.“Creative people here are tightly woven and knitted together,” he observes. “If people saw more of that, they would fall in love with Jackson the way I have.”

Houston has himself gained notoriety for his willingness to create and share his own talents. It’s a quality that puts him in the same boat as those he admires. “I love what I do and try to create the best possible food,” hes says. “I put my integrity into it, use the best ingredients possible and support local. The uniqueness of what I do and will be doing will propel me forward.”

The Dallas native sees himself benefiting from the changing tide in Mississippi’s capital city. “The struggles Jackson goes through – last in everything, the worst in this – people are sick of it,” Houston feels. So, he believes, that creates a desire to be better. “I’ve always said, in the next five years, Jackson is going to be on the verge of something amazing. In ten years, it will be. It’ll be more than just a place on the map that’s a pass through.”

Blumenthal and Good

Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal, co-owners of Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza and Ice Cream Joint, are honored to have been selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2013 Mississippi State Small Business Persons of the Year.

Nunnery

The framing world has come full circle. At least according to Joel Brown. The co-owner of Brown’s Fine Art & Framing says this neighborhood was the center of the framing world in the 60′s. “You had people like Herb Carrithers and his frame shop,” Brown remembers. “He taught classes and people came from all over the world to take them. He even invented implements still used in framing industry today.” Brown says Carrithers put Jackson on the map in the framing world.

There’s another name in Jackson synonymous with framing and he’s back where he started nearly twenty-five years ago. Mike Nunnery has joined the staff of Brown’s where began his career in 1989. “Joel and I have remained good friends and so I called him when I knew we were closing downtown” Nunnery says.

Nunnery’s and Gallery 119 were on President Street and closed earlier this month. When business partner Mike McRee and Nunnery closed downtown, Brown had thoughts of wooing Nunnery back to Fondren. “I talked with my mom (Mary Grace) and sister (Allison) and said “Let’s see what he’s going to do,” Brown says. Nunnery laughs at the rumors he’s heard of his retiring and moving to Florida. “I wish,” he says with a chuckle. Instead, he says being at Brown’s is “like coming home.”

The original Nunnery’s was on Meadowbrook Road in Fondren from 1998 – 2010 and had many loyal customers. And Nunnery already had a familiarity with the neighborhood. “It’s so convenient and central,” he says. Now, being at Brown’s brings a whole new level of credibility to his and their work. “The reputation here is wonderful and always has been.”

The feeling is mutual: Brown is glad to have Nunnery’s expertise. “We have dealt with some of the same customers for years, so Mike already has a following here,” Brown says. “We’ve made a point to have continuity for his customers and bring the same level of quality.”

Framer Calby Boss is a part of that equation, too. While Nunnery is the face of framing at Brown’s, Boss is the hands. “He knows what he is doing,” Nunnery says. “He may be the best I have ever seen.”

Nunnery says it feels like he never left after being away for 25 years. But he may be most thrilled with what his new job brings to his customers. Nunnery says “It’s 100 times more convenient and everyone is thrilled I’m here.”

Johnston Joins Fondren Art Gallery as Framer

Just down the road, there’s another new framer, this one with a fresh perspective on something that could be seen as ordinary. John Johnston has been with Richard McKey’s Fondren Art Gallery for two months. Johnston worked with Mike Nunnery at Nunnery’s downtown and, once he knew of their impending closing, found McKey’s gallery. Johnston says “I saw a sign that said ‘framing’ and so I stopped in.”

Johnston’s career came about just a year ago though he has been framing his own work for several years. “I got into this because of my love of fine art,” he explains. McKey calls Johnston a creative talent and a hard worker. “I can come to him and say “Pick out a matte, pick out a frame” and it comes out perfect,” McKey says. “That’s rare.”

The 26 year-old says framing could be ho-hum. “But creativity comes in to it deciding on your materials,” Johnston explains. “Richard had been working toward giving framing a new creativity (when I came here). At least for him and I, we’re trying to do something different and fun, yet classic.”

Working in the relaxed space of McKey’s State Street Studio, Johnston cranks up his music and works to fulfill customer’s needs. “It’s good to have him here,” McKey says. “He brings life to the building when I’m away.”

And with Fondren Art Gallery’s acquisition of Peacock Alley Framing, the timing was right to have Johnston on board. Gallery Manager Cindy Hatten Smith says “it all came together in a perfect way.”

Johnston

March 20, 2013 • by Sophie McNeil Wolf

Someone has to whip the Sweet Potato Queens and their golf cart floats into shape for the Zippity Doo Dah® Parade. That person is Colby Dearman.

A project manager and designer for Fondren architecture firm Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons, the 28 year-old got involved organizing floats for the parade after a call from Jeff Good last year.

“We as a firm really try to invest in our community and participate with what happens in our neighborhoods and Zippity Doo Dah® seemed like a natural fit,” he said. “Part of my role in the firm is being able to manage and make sense of a large amount of moving parts simultaneously. Helping with the parade seemed like a natural extension.”

Leading up to the Zippity Doo Dah® Parade, Dearman organizes the golf cart floats – everything from making sure that the carts meet the parade’s overall aesthetic and vibe, helping organize their crews, to managing the specific logistics. The day of the parade, he said, is all hands on deck.

But the work, he says, is worth it and he’s inspired by the Sweet Potato Queen herself, Jill Conner Browne. “It is so inspiring to see how passionate she is for Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children, and her vision of a weekend that directly benefits the children,” he said. “I think, like all of the people who are involved, we want Zippity Doo Dah® Weekend to grow each year and be a huge success for the betterment of the community.”

While Dearman didn’t grow up in Jackson, he’s come to find it home after time in Chicago. “I always knew I wanted to return to Mississippi and I felt like Jackson was a city that I could really become engaged with and help make a difference,” he said.

Working in Fondren, Dearman finds it refreshing to be able to walk to grab lunch, pick up some groceries, go to the dry cleaners and meet up with friends all during his lunch break.

“I love the uniqueness and energy of Fondren,” he said. “It has its own identity unlike any place that I have ever visited. It has such a diverse creative class that has embraced the culture of the area and made it their own.” zdd13

Photo: Jay Ferchaud, UMMC Public Affairs

By Jack Mazurak, UMMC Public Affairs

In the middle of a global media tornado of interest surrounding Dr. Hannah Gay’s functional curing of an HIV-infected child, the quiet, thoughtful Mississippi pediatrician never faltered.

Under TV studio lights and in front of lens after lens, she answered questions pleasantly, spoke in smooth, matter-of-fact tones and gave answers that were as thorough as they were concise.

The storm of interview requests from local, national and international media hit in early March after Gay and her two collaborators discussed their findings in the Mississippi-born infant’s case during a major infectious diseases conference in Atlanta.

“We’re extremely proud of Dr. Gay’s work and for all she’s done in her career to improve the lives of Mississippi’s children,” said Dr. James Keeton, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs. “She’s the kind of physician who takes a deep personal interest in her patients and in moving forward HIV care in a careful, evidence-based way.”

In late summer 2010, medics transferred a newborn baby to the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children from another Mississippi facility. The mother found out during labor that she was infected with HIV.

Gay, associate professor of pediatrics and an HIV specialist, took over the infant’s care. Experience told her the child stood a high risk for infection. She decided to treat the infant, then just more than 30 hours old, with a three-drug antiretroviral therapeutic prescription.

Currently, high-risk newborns — those born to mothers with poorly controlled infections or whose mothers’ HIV status is discovered around the time of delivery — receive a one-or-two drug antiretroviral combination at prophylactic – or protective – doses for six weeks. Only if infection is diagnosed do they begin therapeutic prescriptions.

Gay’s previous findings – and those of others in the field – pointed to better viral control with earlier intervention.

Dr. Owen “Bev” Evans, professor and former chair of pediatrics at UMMC, said he’s not surprised Gay made the right call.

“Hannah’s always been one of the most intelligent physicians I’ve ever known,” he said.

“She used her experience and clinical intuition. She knew the child was likely infected and, with the clock running, the risk of not treating was greater than the risks of treatment.”

Tests returned a few days following birth confirmed an HIV infection. Gay kept the infant on therapy for 18 months, when the child was lost to follow-up care. For five months the child didn’t receive the medications. A team of case managers at the Mississippi State Department of Health worked to track down the child, as with many such cases.

When the child returned to her care, Gay said, she expected the viral loads to have spiked. Except they hadn’t. The standard clinical blood test for HIV came back clean. “My first thought was ‘Oh no, I’ve been treating a child who wasn’t infected.’”

But looking back over the results from the baby’s first month of life, Gay saw no doubt, the child had been infected. Gay ordered tests for HIV-specific antibodies, the standard clinical indicator of HIV infection, and for HIV DNA which detects the virus within infected cells. Both came back negative.

She contacted her friend Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, an immunologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The two then called on Johns Hopkins Children’s Center virologist Dr. Deborah Persaud.

Using ultrasensitive laboratory tests, the researchers verified Gay’s clinical results. In their case report describing the world’s first case of a functional cure of an HIV
infection in an infant, the three theorized quick administration of therapy kept the virus from establishing itself in the child.

Read more here…

When Oregonian Brandi Herrera left Jackson in 2008 after a short time here, she never realized her love of Jackson and literary Mississippi would bring her back five years later. Herrera, a freelance writer and poet, is on a mission, capturing the stories of our celebrated writers by way of Wright, Welty and Williams.

The project, Herrera says, is a natural fit. “I’ve kept in contact with people I met here through social media, even a letter writing group,” she explains. Her connections extend to the Mississippi Development Authority, Tourism Division, who reached out saying, “We like your writing, the way you present yourself online and the kinds of ways you tell a story.” Herrera tells us she jumped at the chance to be the first writer in a series of projects that tell the Mississippi story of literature, music, food and other topics. She believes she is the ideal candidate being “someone from a different region who journeys here, looking at the state through an inherently different lens.”

Tracking the history of a handful of the state’s writers, Herrera says she is trying to absorb the places they lived and wrote from. “A lot of that is so important to Southern writers, specifically Mississippi writers,” she says. “I’m capturing the essence of place.”

Studying William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Richard Wright will take her all over the state. She’ll also feature Oxford’s Beth Ann Fennelly and Gulfport’s Natasha Trethewey, the current U.S. poet laureate. Herrera has even spent time with local musician, Laurel Isbister Irby, who played her songs inspired by the writings of Margaret Walker Alexander.

In Jackson, Eudora Welty is particularly notable. Herrera will tour Welty’s former home tomorrow. Yesterday, she visited the Mississippi Department of Archives. “I’ve found some amazing things,” she tells us, “specifically, some of Welty’s handwritten drafts of poems later published in The New Yorker.”

All of this research and discovery will live on her blog, poetinmississippi.tumblr.com, and through social media like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Herrera took time to return to her old stomping grounds on this trip. She notices that Fondren has progressed. “It’s changed a lot,” she observes. “It was vibrant when I was here before, but this is like ten fold. Like, ‘Boom!’ It’s blossoming and I’m happy to see that.”

Jackson as a whole is a place that’s never let go of Herrera. She only lived here for a brief stint – from 2007 to 2008 – and freelanced for local publications, including the Jackson Free Press. But her soft spot for this city has remained.“Jackson has a magnetic pull for me,” she says. “I think so highly of the time I spent here.” That is, in part, due to her feeling that, she says, she became part of a community, something you can easily do here. “There’s something about this place that feels like you can contribute and see the effects of your contribution, make a mark, be active and help to incite positive change. I haven’t felt that in a lot of places.”

“I love Portland; it’s my home and I will probably never leave there,” she says. “But Jackson holds a special place in my heart and I always feel nostalgic when I’m back here. The minute I drove in Sunday night, I felt like, ‘I’m home.’ It feels like another home to me. That’s a good feeling.”