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. A lawsuit alleges that prisoners are sitting in the Raymond Detention Center for long periods because they can’t afford to pay court debts for traffic violations and other misdemeanors.
2. The Jackson City Council called an emergency special meeting to reconsider the contract to manage the mass transit system, JATRAN.
3. The lot where the old McRae’s building stands on Meadowbrook is set to house a new data center and the UMMC Telehealth Center, but the project needs state historic tax-credit funds in order to proceed on schedule.
4. On Friday, the Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference, Working Together Jackson and Jackson 2000 endorsed Initiative 42.
5. Angela Davis spoke as part of the fall 2015 Presidential Lecture in Tougaloo College's historic Woodworth Chapel, where some would-be attendees who arrived late were turned away at the door because of the large turnout.
6. State Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter, a Burnsville Republican, walked back racially charged statements made public over the weekend about the Initiative 42 schools-funding referendum.
7. Some members of the Jackson City Council are gently pushing back on a proposal from Mayor Tony Yarber's administration to designate part of downtown as a "qualified resort area and entertainment district."
8. A Hinds County judge released Steven Willis from Hinds County jail on his own recognizance Tuesday to seek medical treatment.
9. Student senators at the University of Mississippi voted Tuesday night to ask the school administration to remove the Mississippi flag from campus.
10. MAEP funding (theoretically) covers teacher and district employee salaries, retirement and insurance, instruction materials, operational costs, transportation, and special, vocational, gifted and alternative education.

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