Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — 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. Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, a freshman legislator who won his seat with the help of the banking and real-estate industries, Koch Industries and Empower Mississippi, last week told a concerned citizen that he "could care less" about her concerns about budget cuts and suggested that she should leave Mississippi.
2. Officer Brandon Caston was recently named Jackson Police Department’s Officer of the Month for March for collaring two suspected carjackers when he was off duty.
3. The University of Mississippi spent $39,588 in sporting-event tickets and meal expenses for lawmakers and public officials in 2015. Mississippi State spent $14,405 on football and basketball tickets for state lawmakers in 2015.
4. Jackson City Council President Melvin Priester Jr. co-authored a resolution "seeking timely compliance with open records requests by city departments" with Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote.
5. Senate Bill 2921, which is to ostensibly fix crumbling highways, bridges and roads, passed the Mississippi Senate by four votes Wednesday.
6. Rep. Joel Bomgar, R-Madison, and Rev. CJ Rhodes, President of Clergy for Prison Reform, spoke at the Mississippi Capitol on Wednesday, calling for an overhaul of incarceration practices in the state.
7. The committee in charge of the Operation: Orange Cone initiative, funded by the 1-percent sales-tax program, gave the go-ahead to begin work on several of the city’s most worn-down streets, with a total project budget of $9 million.
8. A new report from the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority revealed a years-long discussion about a Madison County commercial airport, as a bill focusing on the "takeover" of the Jackson Municipal Airport remained in House committee as of Thursday morning.
9. After a long fight against oppressive juvenile-justice policies and negligent practices in Mississippi, 2012 was a watershed year for juvenile rights in Mississippi.
10. The City of Jackson last week extended a "precautionary boil notice" from an earlier treatment-plant shutdown amidst discussions with the Mississippi State Health Department about how they will proceed with compliance to the corrosion control plan.

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