Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • A1

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022 CLARIONLEDGER.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Volume 178 No. 36 Home delivery pricing inside. Subscribe 877-850-5343. $3.49 QEAJAB-09806v Weather High Low Mostly sunny Forecast, 2A Global fallout: Yellen warns House panel Russian aggression will have huge economic repercussions. 3A Sustainable energy Wood pellet company Enviva invests $250 million to produce biofuels, which will create 100 new jobs.

4A Where college, high school stars in MLB SPORTS, 1B Trash cans stood like pedestrians waiting to catch a cab. All along Topp Avenue near Jackson State Univer- sity, white bags bulged from black bins. And in the middle of the street, Tim Miles stood wondering when his trash would be picked up. is trash day and they said Miles, who has lived in the Washington Addition neighborhood for 60 years. 11 normally be here at 8 in the IT Trash uncertainty frustrates residents Top: Some residents expressed concern that delays in trash pickup can make it more likely that severe weather could spread garbage through their neighborhoods.

Above: Tim Miles stands on Topp Avenue on Tuesday. Miles has lived in the Washington Addition neighborhood for 60 years and said he had never had to worry before about whether or not his trash would be picked up. PHOTOS BY ANDREW AMERICAN SOUTH Andrew J. Yawn Mississippi Clarion Ledger USA TODAY NETWORK See TRASH, Page 7A The Legislature wrapped up its 2022 session and has approved large raises for statewide and other elected starting in 2024, after the next election. Senate Accountability, and Transparency Chairman John Polk told senators before voting that the new salaries are recommended by the State Personnel Board, based on salaries in other states in the region.

And, he noted, the raises would not go into until after the next state elections. But some senators still expressed consternation, including Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, who said plainly, am not voting for The Senate vote was 47-3, with Bryan and Sens. Angela Hill and Joseph Seymour vot- ing no. Sens.

Kathy Chism and Tate voted present. The House vote was 84-20 for the bill, with six voting present and 12 ab- sent or not voting. House Appropria- tions Chairman John Read, R-Gautier, authored the bill. median household in- come is $45,081 a year the lowest in the country. Some lawmakers expressed appre- hension about the bill, not because other elected were getting a raise, but because legislators were not.

getting a raise ex- cept for said Sen. Charles Younger, R-Columbus. feel like a red- headed Sen. Sollie Norwood, D-Jackson, said: there any discussion re- garding the rationale of a pay raise for legislators not being Polk reminded lawmakers that a measure to increase pay died earlier in the legislative session. The Senate had passed a bill that would give lawmakers a pay bump of $6,000 for the year of a four-year term, and $4,500 a year for the other three years of a term.

Statewide and other elected to get raises in 2024 Geoff Pender Mississippi Today See RAISES, Page 8A Township Jazz Festival will be back Saturday in its traditional spring slot. After going virtual for 2020 and de- laying the 2021 event until fall, the 15th Annual Township Jazz Festival is set in Ridgeland with what may be its most dynamic lineup ever. Grammy winner Nicholas Payton will be on hand as the headliner on a day that will feature New Astral Project, Jackson area favorites The Vamps, Southern Komfort, and many others. Payton is probably the best trumpet player walking around on the Earth said Raphael Semmes, one of the organizers, a jazz artist himself, and a winner of the Mississippi Arts Arts Award. The event, which has always been free to the public, is held on the lawn of The Township at Colony Park.

The event got its beginnings in 2004 as Tripp Douglas, owner of Fusion Cof- feehouse in the Township, enlisted Semmes to play Jazz in the regularly. would have 20 to 30 people in- side for the sessions, and that would our little Douglas said. Douglas was much more skeptical when Semmes came to him and sug- gested the put a tent on the lawn and have an all-day Jazz festival and the area with hundreds of people for 8 can that my reac- tion was, you Douglas said. were doing all we could to get 30 people in here once a month for 2 For the next year, Semmes wore down Douglas, and they arranged a small festival in the parking lot of the and drew around 100 peo- ple. there, we started gaining some Douglas said.

Fifteen years later, the Township Jazz Festival has hosted some of the greatest Jazz festival set for April 9 Ross Reily Mississippi Clarion Ledger USA TODAY NETWORK Dr. Eddie Henderson and his band perform at the 2021 Township Jazz Fest in Ridgeland. PROVIDED BY TRIPP DOUGLASSee JAZZ, Page 7A.