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. Overall, total major crimes (property and violent) have fallen 15.3 percent throughout Jackson in 2016 over the same period in 2015, but Precinct 4 has seen a 12.3-percent increase in property crime.
2. In a few short months, Dak Prescott went from a hopeful National Football League draft pick to rookie quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, with a strong possibility of seeing playing time in their preseason opener Saturday night.
3. On Aug. 10, Mike Hurst, director of The Mississippi Justice Institute filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit on behalf of parents of students who attend two of the three charter schools now open in Jackson. The institute is the legal arm of the conservative Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
4. House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves announced nine working groups, composed of lawmakers, to look closely at state agency budget expenditures over the next few months.
5. BancorpSouth CEO James Rollins III appeared before the Jackson City Council Tuesday night to address members' concerns in light of the Mississippi bank's recent settlement over "redlining" in the Memphis area.
6. Dr. Cedrick Gray, superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, says his focus is on instilling a sense of urgency and a feeling of being family in JPS employees.
7. Early Tuesday morning, a handful of bright-faced elementary-school students and their tired but happy-looking dads participated in the Million Father March from Jackson Public Schools' Enoch building to Poindexter Elementary School.
8. Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes is proposing an order authorizing legal action against Siemens over its performance-based contract with the City of Jackson.
9. State Auditor Stacey Pickering and his office has recovered $1.93 million in fiscal-year 2016, a higher number than the State recouped in fiscal-years 2014 and 2015. The new exceptions report shows, however, that the State has not recovered more than $4 million allegedly lost in the recent Department of Corrections bribery scandal.
10. Mayor Tony Yarber's promise for the City of Jackson centers around the one word he repeated during his "State of the City" address Tuesday night, Aug. 2: momentum.

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