Jackson Free Press

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the nomination of attorney June Hardwick to serve as a judge in Jackson's municipal court.

Hardwick, who lost a June 4 race for the Ward 7 City Council seat to incumbent Margaret Barrett-Simon, has been practicing law in Jackson for just over six years. She ran on the same platform as Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement listed her as one of its candidates in Jackson elections.

The Murrah High School graduate holds a bachelor's degree from Spelman College, a master's degree in International Affairs and Development from Clark Atlanta University and a Juris Doctor from the Mississippi College School of Law. She worked as a teacher for a year in 2003 before taking a job as Hinds County Public Defender from 2007 to 2011, after which she went into private practice.

Among the other measures the council approved were a resolution of the mayor and city council approving the adoption and implementation of the tax increment financing plan for the Westin Hotel development and an order authorizing Lumumba to accept a grant from the Mississippi Tennis Association for the 2013 Adopt-A-Court matching grant for $8,516 to build four new tennis courts—two at Parham Bridges Park and two more at Tennis South on Oak Forest Drive in south Jackson.

The city council also voted to name the new walking trail located in Lake Hico Park in honor of Edward Goodle Jr., and the baseball fields in Grove Park in honor of Walter and Thomas Cheatham. The stretch of Pascagoula Street from West Street to Congress Street was also renamed in honor of Detective Eric Smith, who was shot and killed during a suspect interview in April.

One item that not on the agenda was a motion to reconsider the council's decision not to fund a $151,000 change order to the city's contract with Hemphill Construction for the project to overhaul the infrastructure of a 1.7-mile stretch of Fortification Street.

The order failed to get a majority at an Aug. 5, special meeting of the council, at which the four council members present split in a 2-2 vote.

One of those "nay" votes, DeKeither Stamps, Ward 4, said he's trying to train the city government to be more fiscally responsible, but Public Works Director Dan Gaillet has said an extended delay in approving the additional funding could result in a delay of construction.