Jackson Water Concerns Remain A Year After Federal Takeover Despite Significant Improvements
Jackson residents said issues and concerns remain a year after JXN Water’s Ted Henifin took over the water system despite significant improvements.
Jackson residents said issues and concerns remain a year after JXN Water’s Ted Henifin took over the water system despite significant improvements.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba said the City will issue a new request for proposal for trash pickup.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba’s decision to hire Steve Hutton, who pleaded guilty to charges of promoting prostitution in 2021, as the City’s new interim director of parks and recreation is drawing criticism in Mississippi’s capital.
The City of Jackson is now facing the possibility of up to $75,000 in fines from the State because residents have had to go without garbage pickup services since April 1, after the Jackson City Council rejected Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba’s proposed six-year contract with Richard’s Disposal.
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba cannot veto the Jackson City Council when it votes down a motion, the Mississippi Supreme Court declared in a ruling today.
Richard’s Disposal, the company that collects garbage for the City of Jackson, will continue providing services to more than 150,000 residents in Mississippi’s capital city for now after U.S. Southern District of Mississippi Magistrate Judge Michael T. Parker mediated a temporary settlement.
Department of Parks and Recreation Director Ison B. Harris Jr. unsuccessfully pushed for the funding of a fireworks display for the Juneteenth celebration in Jackson.
The Jackson City Council repeatedly voted down awarding a contract to Louisiana-based Richard’s Disposal after the mayor presented it following the request-for-proposal process and again for a one-year emergency contract at an emergency meeting on April 1, 2022.
In a recent lawsuit, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba asked the Hinds County Chancery Court to declare that the council cannot negotiate a contract nor amend his order for a local emergency, and that he has the prerogative to negotiate emergency contracts and present the same to the council.
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
125 S. Congress Street #1324
Jackson, MS 39201
info@mississippifreepress.org
tips@mississippifreepress.org
events@mississippifreepress.org
601-362-6121