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. The Clarion-Ledger continues to shrink, with the loss of at least four employees, including the paper's publisher, who has been with the company less than a year.
2. There is no question, a federal judge writes, that "there are current and ongoing violations of the inmates’ federal rights" at Walnut Grove Correctional Facility.
3. Rev. Jerome Kyles and other union supporters allege Nissan has pressured and even threatened workers who support bringing in the United Auto Workers Union to represent workers at Canton's Nissan Plant.
4. Abortion numbers could be down for multiple reasons, including higher distribution of contraceptives and the lowering of teen-pregnancy rates in states like in Colorado.
5. Legal experts say Mississippi's disturbance of the peace statute is broad enough to mean whatever police and judges want it to mean.
6. The fate of an education ballot initiative now rests with the Mississippi Supreme Court. The nine justices will decide whether a lower court overstepped its authority when he rewrote an alternative proposed ballot initiative.
7. The Mississippi Museum of Art held a ribbon cutting for the Payton CityFarm Learning Garden, an urban garden on the museum's grounds that will serve as an educational resource for Mississippi students and a source of inspiration for the museum's executive chef, Nick Wallace.
8. The biggest obstacle between Sheriff Tyrone Lewis and a second term is Victor Mason, a former Jackson police lieutenant, who has followed jail developments closely.
9. Mike Odom, who now owns a coffee shop of his own called the CoffeeBAR at the Outlets of Mississippi, has been to more than 50 countries and tried coffee from most of them, but out of all the varieties, he holds espresso in particularly 
high regard.
10. Sports can seem trivial in times of great tragedy. But after two recent events in Jackson, I'm more convinced than ever of their power to help heal in the painful aftermath.

Remember: Check the JFP Events planner for everything to do in the Jackson metro area. You can also add your own events (or send them to [email protected])! See JFPEvents.com

Read staff and reader blog posts at jfp.ms/weblogs (yes, you can register on the site and start your own blog!)