Ellington

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. Pelicia Hall, the recently confirmed commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, is cracking down on contraband in public and private prisons in the state.
2. The Legislature passed the much-debated and anticipated Capitol Complex bill on the last day of their 2017 session, Wednesday, March 29. Both the House and the Senate passed the bill, which has changed substantially since its initial introduction, by wide-margin votes.
3. Gov. Phil Bryant has joined 12 states in support of President Donald Trump's second executive order banning immigrants from six majority-Muslim countries.
4. On March 31 and April 1, both Fondren and Mantle. will be bustling with more activity as Mantle. gears up for its first annual Sandbox Live, which is an event that will combine technology, film and music into one platform.
5. On Wednesday the Mississippi House and the Senate passed a final Capitol Complex Improvement District legislation, House Bill 1226 after it emerged from the final conference process, and with an additional strip of east Fondren added to the top of an earlier House map.
6. Public schools should prepare for more budget cuts, as the Mississippi Adequate Education Program took a hit in the budget lawmakers passed late Monday, March 27.
7. Lawmakers staged a showdown in the Capitol Monday night over money for roads and bridges, as the Mississippi Senate and the House of Representatives stayed in session until midnight on budget deadline day.
8. The Jackson Free Press staff won two first-place awards from the Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters and Media Editors; the winners were announced at a banquet this weekend held at the Jackson Hilton.
9. The Mississippi Legislature was deep in the midst of cutting state agency budgets last week, after Gov. Phil Bryant cut the current state budget for the fourth time in less than a year last Friday to make ends meet. Now lawmakers are voting on budgets that cut state services even deeper than those levels.
10. The Mississippi Legislature is cutting millions of dollars from state health-care services, and Democrats are not happy about it, especially with lawsuits looming.

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