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. On Oct. 30, members of Moral Movement Mississippi went to the gates of the Governor's Mansion to present a letter to Gov. Phil Bryant, demanding that he act to expand Medicaid in the state.
2. Each of the five candidates for the open Ward 1 council seat gathered to answer questions at Bellwether Church in Northeast Jackson about issues ranging from education to economic development to infrastructure.
3. Representatives from Mississippi MOVE and Mu Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity met at Matt Devenney Emergency Shelter, or Matt's House, to ask for community support in keeping two Stewpot homeless shelters open.
4. As they say, Mississippi likes to elect everyone from dog catcher to governor. That includes judges, who must run every four years. Here's a look at the judicial candidates who will appear on local ballots Nov. 4.
5. In Mississippi, half the state's 82 counties have experienced persistent poverty, where at least 20 percent of the people have lived in poverty for three decades.
6. The members of the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence represent a spectrum of experiences in dealing with interpersonal violence in several fields and not only learn how to safely intervene when they see or learn of domestic abuse, but also work toward teaching men to use positive language when talking about women.
7. Jed Oppenheim worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center for five years, and co-organized activities for the Freedom Summer Youth Congress this past summer. Now he is the director of community engagement for the United Way of the Capital Area.
8. Ben Ellard, program manager at the Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl, leads an initiative to educate batterers to end repeat offenses.
9. Richard Sellers comes from a long family line of educators. Currently a special-education teacher at Brandon High School and a member of the Mississippi Army National Guard, Sellers, 31, believes serving on the Jackson City Council is a natural extension of his service experience.
10. Many people who don't support the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which aims to support schools across the state with necessary resources, believe the formula is faulty. But few go beyond that in their explanation.

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