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. Clinton's batterer's intervention program run by the Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl has cut the city's domestic violence numbers dramatically, by as much as half in its nearly two years of operation.
2. Jacksonians celebrated Kujichagulia, the Kwanzaa day of self-determination, Thursday night at the Medgar Evers Community Center. Citizens and community leaders gathered at the community center on Edwards Avenue for a night of music, poetry, food, family, friends and culture.
3. Atlanta-based Southern Co. continues to face mounting costs and legal challenges from the Sierra Club in the construction of the Kemper County coal plant. Read the full story here.
4. Unemployment rates fell from October to November in all but one of Mississippi's 82 counties. Jobless rates also fell from November 2011 in 81 counties.
5. Little has changed on Farish Street this year, despite developers' predictions this summer that they would have at least one club open on the street by the end of 2012. Now some Jackson City Council members are ready to kick the Farish Street Group to the curb and look for a new developer.
6. The Lower Mississippi River Museum uses hands-on displays to help people understand the lore and power of the waterway that has shaped North American life for centuries. Read the full story here.
7. More than 25 people were injured and at least 70 homes were damaged in Mississippi by the severe storms that pushed across the South on Christmas Day. Read the full story here.
8. The Animal Rescue Fund has moved into its new home on Mayes Street. The Miriam Weems Animal Kennel is a no-kill animal shelter now located in a blue metal building in a north-central Jackson industrial park.
9. The Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center is finally making needed repairs to the facility and establishing written policies and procedures, but the jail still has a lot of work left to turn around what a youth-justice advocate earlier this year called a "culture of suppression and harm."
10. The attorney general says home-brewing is legal in the state with a permit from the Department of Revenue. But here's the catch: State tax officials say the law doesn't allow permits specifically for home-brewers. Read the full story here.

Remember: Check the JFP Events planner for everything to do in the Jackson metro area. You can also add your own events (or send them to [email protected])! See JFPEvents.com

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