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. Pam Shaw, a consultant with the Alliance for Early Success, spoke at the Koinonia Coffee House Friday Forum about the need for policy makers, communities and parents to collaborate and adopt long-term thinking to ensure the future of the state's children.
2. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of 16 named plaintiffs against the Mississippi Department of Corrections for "massive human rights violations" at East Mississippi Correctional Facility.
3. The May 21 Democratic primary runoff saw a huge spike in white voter turnout while black turnout held steady. But the spike's effect on the results was negligible: Councilman Chokwe Lumumba defeated businessman and political newcomer Jonathan Lee 54 percent to 46 percent.
4. Chokwe Lumumba's victory in the May 21 Democratic runoff touched off social-media hysteria reminiscent of President Barack Obama's election and re-election.
5. Marcus Coleman is careful to be respectful of his opponent, Margaret Barrett-Simon, but he says its time for a change in Ward 7.
6. Ponto Ronnie Downing, self-proclaimed "Jesus freak," is running for the Ward 3 City Council seat on the Republican ticket.
7. Independent Jackson mayoral candidate Richard "Chip" Williams wants to focus on the family.
8. The Edison Walthall Hotel will have a new owner soon, but who that owner is, when the owner will take control and what they plan to do with the building is still unknown.
9. On Saturday, June 8th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Community Animal Rescue and Adoption Inc. is holding the Putting on the Dog fundraiser.
10. Annie Baker, 40, has served as the director of community outreach for the Mississippi Institute for Improvement of Geographic Minority Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the past seven years.

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