Thereās never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them:
- Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance said that providing security to the Mississippi State Fair without help from the state would require pulling cops from neighborhood patrols.
- At a Capitol press conference, Mike Hurst and Simpson County Sheriff Ken Lewis said Jim Hoodās office interfered in the prosecution of former Mendenhall Police Chief Bruce Barlow.
- Mississippi has a weird mish-mash of officials who have some responsibility for making sure clerks follow the stateās public-records law and that candidates file their campaign-finance reports, but rarely take action.
- Charter schools werenāt legal in Mississippi until 2013, when the Legislature passed the Mississippi Charter School Law, allowing nonprofit charter schools to enter the state for the first time.
- Leaked emails claim that Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Speaker Philip Gunn are connected to an anti-42 PAC and raise questions about the legality of using taxpayer resources to campaign against a ballot initiative.
- After 21 years serving as a Hinds County representative in the Mississippi House, Democrat Mary Coleman has won her run-off and is facing veteran Public Service Commissioner Dick Hall in the central district race.
- With the Jackson City Councilās vote last week against a proposal for federal government-mandated hauling of biosolids from a city wastewater treatment plant, Mayor Tony Yarber is asking government regulators for more time.
- LeFleur East Foundation Board Chairman Dale Currie wants the foundation to implement a revitalization model that is based on similar models of organizations like Fondren Renaissance Foundation and Downtown Jackson Partners.
- Pop Culture Pops owners Craig and Lori Kinsley will soon open a permanent storefront for Pop Culture inside the Pix-Capri Theatre in Fondren.
- U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson authored the American Red Cross Sunshine Act, which would force the American Red Cross to open its books and operations to outside scrutiny.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippiās systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
