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. Each of Jackson's seven wards is important, but there's something special about Ward 6. Located wholly on the city's gritty south side, the ward has had representation in each of the last three mayoral races.
2. Mississippi does a poor job regulating political financing and granting access to government information compared to other states, particularly in municipal elections such as the recent Jackson mayor’s contest.
3. Chokwe A. Lumumba, the son of Jackson's late mayor, said he's disappointed the city pulled its support for the Jackson Rising conference, a key component of his father's economic agenda.
4. Faced with losing a popular local swim club, Friends of Briarwood Pool have raised $15,000 to keep the YMCA pool and Briarwood Dolphins swim team afloat.
5. Ravi Gupta, a former Obama for America staffer and speechwriter for U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, hopes to start the first charter school in Jackson in 2015.
6. The #Not1More campaign is a moratorium on deportations and wants to bring attention to the 2 million deportations since January 2009.
7. According to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court Monday, prayers that open town council meetings do not violate the Constitution, even if they routinely stress Christianity. The court said in a 5-4 decision that the content of the prayers is not significant as long as they do not denigrate non-Christians or proselytize.
8. Vintage Movie and Entertainment Theater shows classic black and white, silent and other older films, featuring the likes of Bing Crosby, Mickey Rooney, Bela Lugosi and John Wayne.
9. Mayor Tony Yarber attended a news conference held at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame to pledge his support for LeFleur and the Freedom 50 Conference.
10. Officials in Hinds County are investigating the cause of a recent failure of its emergency-operations system.

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