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. Attorney General Jim Hood called on the Legislature to increase funding for the state's mental-health department in order to address two pending lawsuits against the state for its mental health-care system.
2. Ruth Haynes, a local Jackson senior citizen, applauds the senior-citizen transportation program, a partnership between the City of Jackson, the Jackson Medical Mall and the Mississippi Department of Transportation, for giving her independence.
3. Chokwe Antar Lumumba, now running for mayor for the second time, says his slogan is: “When I become mayor, you become mayor.”
4. Mississippi Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, explained a proposed bill to send an additional $24 million in tax revenue back to Jackson's crumbling infrastructure, administered through the Mississippi Department of Administration and Finance.
5. A full investigative audit of Jackson Public Schools means the district must complete every single item, pre-k to graduation standards, on the corrective action plan before the district is in complete compliance.
6. Judge Larry Roberts declared a mistrial in the case against of Hinds County DA Robert Shuler Smith, but many questions about the bribery schemes remain.
7. The Mississippi Association of School Superintendents is running out of funding, largely due to a last-minute change a few lawmakers made last session to the State's education budget bill, cutting off all funding to the group.
8. Some Mississippi Republican leaders invoked President-elect Donald Trump's expensive infrastructure plan last week when discussing Mississippi's crumbling roads and bridges, seeming to believe it will solve the state's urgent issues with roads and bridges.
9. At the Stennis Capitol Press Forum, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said he expects EdBuild's recommendation to go to lawmakers by the Jan. 16 deadline for legislation.
10. Carey Wright, the state superintendent of education, addressed House Education Committee members at the Capitol about progress on education initiatives as well as room for growth and improvement.

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