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The Year In News
This year will be over in a few hours. Here's a look back on some of the big news events of 2010 in Jackson and Mississippi.
Pre-K: An Ounce of Prevention
Little Samaritan Montessori is an unusual sight in Jackson's Midtown neighborhood. In an area with high rates of vacancy and a declining population, Little Samaritan represents the future. The child-care center serves 62 children, from 6 weeks to 5 years old, with a Montessori curriculum, an experiential approach to education that emphasizes students' self-direction.
Highway 80 Gets Scrutinized, Organized
After declining slowly for decades, the Highway 80 corridor in south Jackson is poised for a rebirth. The Jackson Redevelopment Authority is looking to have the corridor designated an urban renewal area within the next 60 days, JRA executive director Jason Brookins told the Jackson Free Press Friday. The designation would allow the organization to push economic-development efforts in the area by purchasing blighted property, offering tax exemptions on improvements and issuing bonds.
Laid-Off Teachers Hurting Education
Mississippi's public education system faces a difficult future, given persistent funding troubles, state Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said today. Speaking at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce's Friday Forum at Koinonia Coffee House, Blount touched on a number of topics, focusing on education and the state's fiscal difficulties.
Jackson Police Battling Burglaries
Jackson police reported 226 crimes last week, up from 177 the previous week, according to crime statistics released at a Jackson Police Department command staff meeting this morning. Officers reported 190 property crimes, up from 144 the previous week, and 36 violent crimes, a slight increase from the 33 reported the week before. Auto burglary increases occurred in Precincts 2, 3 and 4 while house burglaries rose in Precincts 1, 3 and 4.
Advocates Urge Proactive Approach to Homeless
Addressing homelessness in Jackson will require the active participation of communities, especially in the areas near downtown, the city's Homeless Program Coordinator Heather Ivery said today.
College Board Loosens Firing Rules
Facing steep budget cuts this year and a bleak outlook for the next two years, the state College Board gave initial approval yesterday to a policy change that would allow university presidents greater flexibility in firing tenured and tenure-track professors.
City Purchases 311 Software
The Jackson City Council yesterday approved the purchase of two software packages that will allow citizens to make and track complaints and requests related to city services online. The two purchases are the technological backbone of the city's proposed 311 system, one of Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s pledges from his campaign.
Mark Chinn
Yes, he's a divorce lawyer, but if Mark Chinn has his way, that job description will sound less like a slur and more like an honor. Chinn, 56, wants to move his profession away from the litigious, take-no-prisoners mentality it currently holds to a more collaborative approach that seeks to heal families even as it separates them.
Filming, Cupcakes and Marketing
Filming for DreamWorks Studios' "The Help," the adaptation of Jackson native Kathryn Stockett's bestselling debut novel, has largely taken place in Greenwood, but the production is coming to Fondren Sept. 23. Crews have begun facade work on a row of North State Street businesses to match the film's 1960s setting.
Hinds Seeks $6 Million Fines
Lack of personnel and technology is preventing Hinds County from collecting over $6 million in outstanding fines, county supervisors learned at a work session yesterday. A discussion on improving the county's processing of warrants proposed by Supervisor Peggy Calhoun spawned an hour-long analysis of the county's system for tracking and collecting fines.
JPS Facing $9M Budget Hole
The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees met yesterday to address a possible $9 million budget shortfall for the upcoming school year. With lower tax collections, rising debt-service obligations and reduced state funding, the district may need to request a property tax increase from the city to fill gaps in the 2010-2011 budget.
JPD Building Habitat House, Battling Burglaries
The Jackson Police Department is adding construction to its list of responsibilities. Along with the Jackson Fire Department, JPD will contribute volunteers to the construction of a Habitat house on Winn Street in south Jackson. Construction should take eight working days and wrap up by May 18, Habitat special projects manager Maureen Wishkoski said. The Winn Street house will be the 465 house built by the metro Jackson chapter of Habitat for Humanity, making it among the top 20 most active chapters in the country.
JRA Mulls ‘Union Market' Downtown
The city is soliciting community input on an empty storage space across from the King Edward Hotel in downtown Jackson that could become an open-air market, dubbed "Union Market," Jackson Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Jason Brookins told an audience of the Young Professionals Alliance yesterday.
Melissa Dearman
Baker Elementary School is getting kids excited to read. The south Jackson elementary school recently won "School of the Year" honors from America Reads Mississippi, a literacy program that brings AmeriCorps volunteers into schools to tutor reading and increase community support for literacy. Volunteers work with students one-on-one during the school day, using library books that complement classroom lessons. Melissa Dearman, the school's administrative assistant, received the "Site Supervisor of the Year" award for her work overseeing the school's AmeriCorps volunteers.
Barbour Names Commission on School Consolidation
Gov. Haley Barbour announced yesterday the formation of an advisory panel on school consolidation, one of the more controversial suggestions from his November budget recommendations. Composed of state and local education officials, business leaders and legislators, the 16-member Commission on Mississippi Education will begin studying consolidation in January 2010 and deliver a report to the governor by April.
Leslee Foukal
Leslee Foukal has high hopes for the section of Fondren west of State Street.
Teachers Fire Back at Film
In "Waiting for 'Superman,'" the provocative new documentary on America's education system, the trick is that the titular superhero doesn't exist. It argues that no single force will rescue the children who public schools, in their current state, are largely failing. But the film offers a clear Lex Luthor-esque villain in the form of teachers' unions.
Edwards To Address Book Controversy
Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards is holding a press conference this afternoon to address controversial book purchases at his former school district. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that several administrators in the DeKalb County, Ga., school district used school funds to purchase books they wrote.
MDE Submits Proposal to Makeover State Schools
On June 1, the Mississippi Department of Education sent a 500-page Race To The Top proposal to radically transform the state's educational system to Washington, D.C. Mississippi's entry in the federal grant program proposes performance pay for teachers, a state board exam system and new specialized academies, but the ambitious plan depends on getting nearly $175 million from the federal government.