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. Gov. Phil Bryant announced that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach would represent Mississippi in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over President Barack Obama's decision to stop deporting young undocumented immigrants. R.L. Nave has the story.
2. Jason Brookins is resigning as the executive director of the Jackson Redevelopment Authority. The Iron Horse Grill, the project that could go down as the JRA's biggest success under Brookins, closed on a deal for $2.5 million in urban-renewal bonds through the JRA and $1.5 million in new-market tax credits Friday morning. Read the full story here.
3. Mississippi State Supreme Court Chief Justice William Waller Jr. reflected on his experience on the Court and talked about Mississippi's election system during a recent interview with reporter R.L. Nave.
4. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Meridian, Miss.; Lauderdale County, Miss.; judges of the Lauderdale County Youth Court; and the state of Mississippi alleging that the defendants systematically violate the due process rights of juveniles.
5. On Oct. 25, Partners to End Homelessness hosted a '70s-themed fundraiser to benefit organizations like the Opportunity Center, the only day shelter for the homeless in Jackson. Read more about the event and the Opportunity Center here.
6. In a less than eyebrow-raising new report, Mississippi's University Research Center has concluded that covering more people with Medicaid would cost the state millions upon millions of dollars.
7. In its final push toward the Nov. 6 election, Rep. Earle Banks' campaign for a seat on the state's supreme court against sitting Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. recently began circulating campaign material that reminds voters that Waller joined the majority opinion in Hughes vs. Hosemann, clearing the way for Personhood to appear on the ballot in 2011.
8. Habitat For Humanity/Metro Jackson recently completed 22 of 27 new homes in the formerly derelict Englewood Gardens neighborhood, with the help from the new home owners.
9. A diverse crowd of college-age students, young adults and others attended Words I Never Said: Moving a Hip-Hop Agenda in 2012—a community dialogue on the hip-hop generation—Thursday evening at Jackson State University's Rose E. McCoy auditorium.
10. In honor of Halloween, check out our coverage of Mississippi ghost hunters and other spooky subjects in stories like A Woman of Paranormal Worth, Investigators Search for Life After Death, My Ghost of Duff Green and more.

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