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. On a rainy Thursday night at Forest Hill High School in south Jackson, Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks hosted what he says is the first of many more of his "Not on My Block" crime-prevention forums, in light of high-profile crime and violence recently throughout the Jackson area.
2. Older low-income adults in the Jackson-metro area looking for jobs will have access to employment opportunities after Senior Service America Inc. awarded the City of Jackson a $553,698 grant.
3. Jackson first lady Ebony Lumumba spoke to Provine seniors on Wednesday morning, encouraging them to pursue their further education and prepare to be the change agents in the world.
4. Jacksonians and businesses are contributing to the city's water and sewage problems by pouring fats, oil and greases down drainage pipes, consultants from Burns and McDonnell told the Jackson City Council during a work session Monday.
5. The Jackson Public Schools district is in violation of 24 of the state's 32 accreditation standards, a 680-page investigative audit report released today by the Mississippi Department of Education shows., the benchmark used in most public schools.
6. Mississippi senators met in Jackson last week to explore ways to raise more money for the state's deteriorating infrastructure. The move seemed to contradict their leader, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, and his insistence that he will not raise taxes.
7. The former Downtown Jackson Partners secretary who blew the proverbial whistle on her boss, Ben Allen, may end up guilty of more felonies than her former employer for "intentionally" methodically forging checks on DJP's account, if new indictments lead to convictions.
8. Principal Kathleen Grigsby has a reason to be proud: Kindergarteners at Davis IB Elementary in downtown Jackson scored in the top 10 of all schools in the state on the kindergarten readiness assessment for the second year in a row., a new report finds.
9. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba announced his first wave of appointees on July 6, three days after his first city council meeting as mayor.
10. Auditors working in the Mississippi Division of Medicaid and the attorney general's office recovered more than $11 million in improper payments and claims for fiscal-year 2017 after analyzing medical claims paid out to health-care providers across the state.

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