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. Sarah White, board president of Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights, led discussion of fatalities and workers rights in Mississippi at the State Capitol.
2. Mississippi has the highest preterm birth rate in the country and, as a result, the second highest infant mortality rate.
3. Twelve thousand Mississippi students spent nearly 20 minutes unable to take their Mississippi Assessment Program tests Wednesday due to a statewide glitch in the program.
4. Mayor Tony Yarber announced on April 26 the beginning of what he described as a "pothole blitz" across the city, addressing and fixing potholes on select streets in each ward.
5. Uber has the green light to operate statewide, after a bill implementing statewide regulations soared through the Legislature this session largely uncontested.
6. This year, Jackson Public Schools named Steve Collins Parent of the Year for his efforts. Yet, Collins is like a lot of other African American fathers: involved with their children's lives and passionate about their success in school.
7. Former Jackson Municipal Airport Authority Commissioner Jeffery Stallworth's lawsuit challenging the impending "takeover" may not have legal standing or support from the other interested parties involved, including the current JMAA board.
8. First Lady Michelle Obama gave a civil-rights lesson and called for excellence at Jackson State University's Spring 2016 commencement at Veteran's Memorial Stadium.
9. Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps's moratorium on pawn shops, payday lenders and liquor stores in his ward gained the full support of the City Council's Planning Committee.
10. State Treasurer Lynn Fitch wrote a letter to Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn on April 20, the day the Senate went home, saying she was "deeply disappointed" with some legislative actions, including the bond and debt service appropriations bills, which she says will force the state into one of two "bad options" down the road.

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