Jackson Free Press

There's 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:

1. Year to date, major crimes in the City of Jackson are down 10.7 percent over 2015. Property crimes are down 13.9 percent over 2015, although the City experienced a spike in grand larceny of 9.3 percent.
2. Rumors swirling around the county about who would get lucrative contracts to help build and service the new Continental Tire plant prompted the Hinds County Board of Supervisors president to address the Hinds County Economic Development Board in a special meeting Thursday.
3. The auditorium of Forest Hill High School was packed Wednesday night with parents, students and teachers who sounded off to Jackson Public Schools' top administration, airing their frustrations about recent violence and instability at the JPS school.
4. With surplus funding to comply with a 12-year-old lawsuit, the state's foster care system is on track to avoid federal receivership, and the state will not have to go to court on May 15, as originally planned.
5. In 2015, Precinct 2 Commander Jarratt Taylor helped execute a massive enforcement effort called Metro Area Crime Elimination, or MACE for short, promised to be a local version of the national Operation Ceasefire model.
6. Public Works Director Kishia Powell asserts that the City’s issues with water and sewer revenue stem from a combination of ambitious projections from engineers and difficulties with the new meter and billing system, both a result of the Siemens contract.
7. Proponents say high-quality after-school programs are one solution to Mississippi's ongoing education problems, including some of the lowest scores on national tests, and Operation Shoestring's data seems to support their claims.
8. Efforts and stallouts at Baton Rouge and Charlotte airports indicate several options for how SB 2162 might play out for the JMAA’s governance.
9. Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes introduced an ordinance to make discharging a weapon within the city limits punishable by jail time and mandatory fines during Tuesday's meeting of the Jackson City Council.
10. Hundreds of protesters marched from the Capitol to the governor's mansion last Sunday, calling on the state's leadership to repeal House Bill 1523.

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