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. Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain said Friday that murder suspect Jeremy Powell shot Detective Eric Smith before killing himself. Read more about Smith and the incident here.
2. Harvard University's Graduate School of Education announced that it is awarding James Meredith its Medal for Education Impact, the highest honor the school awards. Learn more and find links to additional stories about Meredith here.
3. Mississippi lawmakers ended their three-month session Thursday, but they'll return to the Capitol in the next several weeks to handle a big piece of unfinished business: Keeping the Medicaid program alive beyond July 1.
4. The Senate Education Committee blocked Joel Bomgar's nomination to join the state Board of Education Thursday on an 8-7 vote. Bomgar, the 33-year-old founder of Bomgar Corp. of Ridgeland, saw his nomination set aside after opponents sharply questioned his board membership on the conservative-leaning Mississippi Center for Public Policy, his choice to home-school his children and his policy preferences for education.
5. More problems at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson came to light at a town hall-style meeting Wednesday. Department of Veterans Affairs officials organized the meeting in response to allegations that the hospital failed to sterilize equipment and practiced generally poor management.
6. The Southern Co. withdrew plans to seek a federal loan guarantee for the power plant its subsidiary, Mississippi Power Co., is building in Kemper County. A spokesman for Atlanta-based Southern said Mississippi Power can borrow money elsewhere at a lower rate than available under the loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
7. A bill sent to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says a physician would have to be present when a woman takes abortion-inducing drugs. Senate Bill 2795 also says the woman would have to return to the doctor's office two weeks later for a follow-up examination.
8. The House and Senate on Tuesday passed Senate Bill 2395, which would send money to regional groups of preschool providers. The House favored the measure 97-17, while the Senate voted for it 37-11.
9. House members voted 62-56 Tuesday with no debate to approve a House-Senate agreement on the charter school bill HB 369.
10. Senate Bill 2913 went to Republican Gov. Phil Bryant's desk after sailing through the House and Senate on Monday. The bill allows the state to borrow $196 million to send to universities and community colleges for construction projects. It also contains borrowing authority for special projects favored by powerful Republican members.

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