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. Faced with steep spending increases to meet the challenges of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's consent decree and Jackson's crumbling roads, Mayor Chokwe Lumumba says he is moving ahead with a 1-percent sales tax.
2. Construction on Fortification Street continues, despite the Jackson City Council's denial of a change order for an additional $151,000 to clear a 42-inch drainage line.
3. When a fire broke out at the Hinds County Armory, located on state property, the Jackson Fire Department put it out. Nevertheless, Jackson is unlikely to benefit from state budget negotiations.
4. At a Sept. 4 meeting, school-district officials stressed that a new bullying policy is in place.
5. The front of the Eastland Federal Building displays the art-deco style that was popular at the time a firm out of Cincinnati constructed the building.
6. Real estate broker The Overby Company is listing Metrocenter Mall, once a commercial powerhouse, for sale at $6.5 million.
7. Even if the Jackson Zoo retains its accreditation, questions will remain about its long-term viability if it remains in West Jackson.
8. More than three years after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, and a week before a key provision of the health law takes effect, Mississippi federal lawmakers continued vows to repeal Obamacare.
9. Robert St. John’s restaurant complex recently underwent a huge renovation and expansion.
10. People are going back to their "hunter-gatherer" roots and attempting to emulate caveman eating habits. This growing lifestyle trend is called the paleo—short for paleolithic—diet.

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