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. When Hinds County voters go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 5, they will not simply select some guys to fill a pair of empty seats on the board of supervisors—they will chart the county's course for at least the next two years.
2. A quick scan of Tony Greer's campaign Facebook page gives a strong sense of where he's coming from, ideologically speaking.
3. Hope for a compromise between the Jackson Redevelopment Authority and the latest Farish Street developer took a hit last week, when JRA filed a lawsuit against the Farish Street Group and Watkins Development, LLC., seeking to expunge its name from liens and recoup nearly $5 million in penalties for breach of contract.
4. The Jackson City Council decided last week to authorize a city-wide referendum vote on the question of a 1-percent sales-tax increase for Jacksonians.
5. The 663,000 Mississippians who receive food-stamp benefits have to shop smarter after Nov. 1, as the federal government rolled back the program's benefits across the country.
6. At a Wednesday hearing, David Watkins flatly denied the charges against him and finished his testimony by answering his attorney Brad Pigott's plainly stated query: Did he have any reason to conceal information from investors, as the state has suggested?
7. Mackena Bell's NASCAR Pro Series No. 21 car rolled into Jackson Thursday morning as part of the 2013 Fueling Your Dreams Tour to teach kids how the big business of pro racing is more about the people and the process than about just driving fast.
8. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba fired Public Works Director Dan Gaillet Monday afternoon following a special meeting of the city council.
9. On Nov. 30, American Express and the Shop Small Movement will host the fourth annual Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses nationwide during the holiday shopping season.
10. David Watkins' attorney is charging that a local law firm is helping clients “attempting to steal the Farish Street project from (Watkins)" with its involvement with various lawsuits spinning around the beleaguered developer and his various projects.

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