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PODCAST

Tombigbee Tales

A Podcast about Columbus, Mississippi - Its scandals, eccentric people, and our version of Southern Hospitality...which ain’t always so hospitable. Pull up and let me tell you about Mama and them. Bring you some tea because we are going to sit here a spell and catch up.

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

08:35

Episode 13 Columbus Housing Authority and Futurespec

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/06/07

Gulfport's City Council President and Futurespec's Rusty Walker have been playing a shell game with money and land for some time in Gulfport while consulting for various housing authorities in his spare time. Why? According to HUD and area directors, there is absolutely no need for companies like Future Spec to do the day-to-day coding and grant fund management. That they are hired to do. The directors have so many opportunities to learn both online and in person, and HUD and various state-level

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16:11

Episode 12 Columbus Housing Authority: CHA and CCHDO...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/06/01

Unravel the financial irregularities in this community housing organization. Let's take a deep dive into the financial transparency, or lack thereof, and the organizational accountability that is missing at the Columbus Housing Authority. From single and rubber-stamped signatures to initialed checks with no invoice or purchase order numbers...the financial mess at both the Non-profit CCHDO and the CHA is appalling.

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13:14

Episode 11 Columbus Housing Authority and The Rubber...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/31

This comprehensive investigative report exposes deep-seated governance challenges within the Columbus Housing Authority (CHA), revealing a complex network of potential systemic failures that compromise organizational integrity, financial accountability, and public trust.We're uncovering a peculiar board member who appears to be a long-standing fixture in the organization. Appointed under a previous administration, Greta Gardner seems to occupy a unique position - signing critical documents for both

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18:18

Columbus Housing Authority Ep #10 The Executive...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/29

Today we examine the Mississippi Ethics Commission rules related public access to public records information and how the Columbus Housing Authority Executive Director and Board Attorney are in non-compliance.

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15:47

Ep. 9 Columbus Housing Authority and the Case of the...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/24

The housing authority uses federal grants or gifts to help pay the housing cost of its customers. Federal money is given to the housing authority to cover all the normal costs of maintaining a place to live. As a result, the housing authority must comply with state and federal bidding rules on purchasing.The laws are really clear, and they're easy to comply with if an agency chooses to follow them. Is the Columbus Housing Authority following federal and state bid law guidelines? I. Yes, no one

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13:15

Columbus Housing Authority Ep. 8 Outrageous FOIA Bill...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/21

My most recent FOIA request has been described as requiring 160 hours of work and cositn over $7000 to complete. What hogwash! Is nothing in the CHA digitized?

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26:34

Columbus Housing Authority Ep. 7 Foxes and Henhouses

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/19

What started with looking into a truck that CHA purchased and got scammed on has made me look more carefully at how they conduct their business. It makes me question a lot of things they do and makes me wonder who else is scamming them. Follow along as I explore their ledgers.

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11:06

Columbus Housing Authority and Their Bed Bug Problem

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/19

It would appear that most of the service providers to the Columbus Housing Authority are from out of town, adding to the cost of their services. Was the Cook Pest Control account ever put out for bid? Is it rebid each year? Why does the Columbus Housing Authority have a huge bedbug problem that shows up each month in one and only one unit at varying amounts for treatment?

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12:49

CHA Ep. 5 The Executive Directors $52,000 in Travel...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/17

Since October 13th, 2023, Executive Director Robert Grathree has spent $52,000 on conference travel and per diem. In that same period, over $100,000 has been charged to the Columbus Housing Authority's credit card. None of that is spent on resident housing improvements, and none of that is spent on bills. All of those invoices and all residency work are paid for by checks. What is this credit card used for? What have they spent over $100,000 on in less than two years?

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17:34

CHA Ep4 The Missing Truck Title, Scammers, and...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/14

Looking through the board minutes on the truck and the scammer, I found other anomalies that caught my eye…big dollar anomalies and still no mention of the scam. Interesting!

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35:28

Columbus Housing Authority Ep 3 Missing Truck Emails...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/11

My recent FOIA request related to the Columbus Housing Authority (CHA) Truck and the 60K scam has raised even more questions about the activities of the director and board at CHA.

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13:07

Columbus Housing Authority Ep. 2 - The Case of the...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/08

Tonight, I am going to tell you a story that was told to me by people in positions of authority with the Columbus Housing Authority…a strange, convoluted story…and then I will read you three emails I was handed in a meeting. I should have much more on Friday as a result of a FOIA request and a couple of hundred dollars to get said public documents…but here is the story. Bear with me as I may struggle to keep it all straight—it is a doozy!

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07:06

Prohibition and the Murder of Wales Land in Lowndes...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/07

Wales Land embodied the archetypal small farmer - hardworking, unassuming, and deeply rooted in the agricultural traditions of the American South. He farmed with his father and the sharecroppers who worked the land beside them. The Great Depression and the Prohibition era had transformed quiet rural communities into complex battlegrounds of legal enforcement, social tension, and economic survival. This is the setting of how three federal Prohibition agents gunned down an innocent, hard-working

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45:29

Mayoral Candidate Stephen Jones Columbus, MS

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/05/02

City Councilman and Mayoral Candidate Stephen Jones answers questions generated by Columbus, MS, citizens.

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01:19:00

Interview with Darren Leach Mayoral Candidate...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/04/29

Columbus Mayoral Candidate Darren Leach answered questions generated by Tombigbee Tales followers living or owning businesses in Columbus, MS, city limits.

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13:54

Columbus Housing Authority and the Pursuit of Public...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/04/26

This episode is a continuation of my series about the Columbus Housing Authority and my pursuit of public information.Let me give you a little context about public accountability. In an era of increasing demand for governmental transparency, the pursuit of public information represents a really critical aspect of civic engagement. The narrative of this podcast explores the complex interactions between me and the Columbus Housing Authority, revealing some systemic challenges and their lack of

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10:21

The Case of the Missing Columbus Housing Authority...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/04/23

The Columbus Housing Authority (CHA), a critical public service organization responsible for managing affordable housing and community development, is at the center of a potentially significant procurement scandal. This investigation delves into a truck purchase's intricate details that expose potential systemic vulnerabilities in public sector financial management. Don't Worry! Tombigbee Tales is ON the Case!

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07:46

The Lynching of D. H. Smith, Artesia, Mississippi 1889

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/04/22

The post-Reconstruction era in Mississippi represented a complex tapestry of economic manipulation and racial subjugation. Sharecropping emerged not as an opportunity for economic mobility, but as a sophisticated system of continued economic bondage for recently freed African Americans. In this environment, labor agent D. H. Smith began recruiting farm laborers to move to Arkansas. Smith, a Black man from Forrest City, Arkansas, is first said to visit Artesia and the local sharecroppers in early

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30:53

Fishing for the Future - Marine Resource Management...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/04/20

In a departure from history and current events, I interviewed my friend Mario Ruiz, a competitive sport fisherman. Come learn about his sport and how he is using it to shift the mindset of fishing in the Pacific waters of Mexico! Follow them on Facebook Team Tex Mex Follow them on Instagram at Team Tex Mex

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14:14

The Fossil Park Funding Controversy and Nancy Luke...

Tombigbee Tales ·

2025/04/18

Our story centers on Nancy Carpenter, CEO of the CCHF, and a web of financial allegations that raise serious questions about grant management and public accountability based on a recent Memorandum of Agreement between the city of Columbus and the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation.

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280 results

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