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. Former Mayor Kane Ditto helped design the Capitol Complex Improvement District, which he says would free up City money to spend on areas not included in the plan.
2. Should HB 4 become law, teachers would be required to teach children cursive, mandate nightly and weekend homework assignments, and assign monthly book reports per subject—all to students required to dress in school uniforms, among other stipulations.
3. Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, authored the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act of 2016, which could cut the state’s general fund by $575 million over a period of 15 years.
4. After one of the most violent weekends in the city this year, Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber announced on Wednesday the formation of a Criminal Justice Reform Task Force.
5. Ben Allen, a former city councilman and president of Downtown Jackson Partners, was indicted for embezzlement on Wednesday.
6. Rep. Toby Barker, R-Hattiesburg, and Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, both took the lead on initial state foster-care reform legislation last week in the Mississippi House of Representatives and the Senate.
7. Joyce Helmick, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, says the Mississippi Legislature isn’t giving public schools the opportunities they’re due.
8. Early Thursday morning the City of Jackson suddenly announced what it called a "system-wide" water failure at its main facility, the J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant.
9. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump attracted large crowds at Madison Central High School on Monday night—although far from the 10,000 he claimed.
10. Mississippi municipalities would be banned from establishing "sanctuary cities" for illegal immigrants if a Senate bill, which passed to the House of Representatives Monday, becomes law.

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