OT: What sink hole today will equate to Jackson in 2032?

[Rutherford B Hays]

I'd like to say Memphis, but they somewhat seem to be getting it together.

I live in the Jackson metro area and I wonder if I'm just kicking the can down the road by staying here. If Chokwe Lumumba becomes the next mayor then all bets are off. Jackson will jump from cancerous to hospice.

 

[Rutherford B Hays]

I'd like to say Memphis, but they somewhat seem to be getting it together.

I live in the Jackson metro area and I wonder if I'm just kicking the can down the road by staying here. If Chokwe Lumumba becomes the next mayor then all bets are off. Jackson will jump from cancerous to hospice.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

nm

 

[coach66]

has become. Dysfunctional is the best word to describe it. I hope they can turn it around but I think there is cause for concern that they can. They need a serious<div>gov't bailout.</div>

 

[fishwater99]

The Charter school bill would have been a step in the right direction. Only so many families can afford to send their children to private school.
I am paying over $4K for kindergarten. The cost to attend Prep, JA, and St. Andrews will be well over $20K per year by the time my children are in High School.

 

[Johnson85]

Money is not their problem, their voting population, and hence municipal gov't, is their problem. The majority of their voting population will either stop acting like it's ok to have corrupt morons run their town, or they won't.

 

[kendrickjohnson]

As long as the citizens of Jackson continue to re-elect the same morons, nothing will change

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

The legislature needs to be careful about how they write that bill so that you get reputable groups in charge of the charter schools. Otherwise it can turn sour quick.

 

[OMlawdog]

That is just chalked full of awesome.

He is the only attorney I have ever seen hauled off from the courtroom in cuffs. I missed Kevin Muhammad leaving a courtroom in cuffs by a mere five minutes, but I got to see Chokwe arrested first hand, roughly 5 months out of law school. I kept thinking how people said that practicing law was nothing like what you see on TV, and within my first 12 months I got to witness Chokwe get arrested, two cops get off on rape charges even though they had one basically confess on tape that he was just the look out and that it was his buddy that raped her, watch a battle between former Judge Ford and Judge Green that still makes me feel uncomfortable, and a lawyer ask a jury to say Amen during his closing argument.

Oh how I miss Hinds County justice.

 

[RocketDawg]

I've seen many references on here about what a terrible place it is, but what's the crux of the problem? This is an honest question ... I haven't been there in ages, and it was OK then (I drove through there about 10 years ago, but it was the middle of the night) It's not a very large city, so it can't be compared to Detroit or St. Louis or other large cesspool from a population standpoint.<div>
</div><div>So why is it so bad?</div>

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

..yet has the balls to call into question the aesthetic appeal of any other city or town in America is a stone cold idiot.

Everytime I drive through Starkville, here is my wish list for the city Fathers:


1) Make an effort to pick up your trash. (This is a town that can choose between convicts to pick up their trash for free or college kids to pick it up for minimum wage. Yet **** is still strowed everywhere).


2) Kudzu is a failed experiment; come up with another way to contain your erosion.


3) Zone away your ****** & haphazard building projects. Moreover, all those decaying single-wides I am forced to look at when driving into the city limits...at least force the owners to plant concealing shubbery.


If you lived amongst this mess for 4 years, and yet you still talk **** about how other towns & cities look, then you are, as mentioned, a stone cold idiot.

 

[Rutherford B Hays]

...Chokwe wants to be the next mayor of Jackson. If anyone wants to know more about Chokwe, trot over to You-Tube. Chokwe was the "prosecuting attorney" in a "trial" the Republic of New Africa held that found found the US guilty of a litany of nonsence. The verdict was to give the Republic of New Africa the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida so they could set up their nation.

This clown is so full of hate and illogic that he has long ago lost touch with reality, yet he sits on the City Council of Jackson. He ought to be sitting in Leavenworth doing a long stretch for Treason.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Yeah, Jackson's problem is aesthetic appeal. Never mind the crime, abandoned buildings, eroding industrial base, dirty police force, inept city government, and poor public education system, to name a few things. It's the aesthetics.

 

[fishwater99]

Just some of it's tax base has fled to Madison and Rankin counties due to the sub-par public school system.
Downtown Jackson is seeing a revival, along with the Fondren and Belhaven neighborhoods.
Whole Foods is coming to Highland Village next year, and a new development where the old MS School for the Blind was.
Crime is not bad compared to other cities it's size.
I enjoy living in Jackson and the only reason I would move would be if I am unable to afford private school for my children.

 

[bulldogbaja]

They elected a mayor named Harvey Johnson who ran the city into the ground and then left office in disgrace. Then in his place they elected a batshit crazy former local TV producer who tore down a house, adopted a bunch of kids, joined a SWAT team, went to jail, and then died, all in about 6 months. Then they re-elected Harvey Johnson. So in short, the electorate is the problem.

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

..The last time I was in Memphis, I realized I owed Newark, New Jersey an apology.


The last time I was in New Orleans, I longed for the sweet smell & vibrant ambience of downtown Detriot, Michigan.

It's impossible to overstate what tremendous shitholes Memphis & New Orleans have turned into. But somehow Jackson has steered clear of such decay.


Jackson is Yellowstone National Park compared to Memphis & New Orleans.

 

[ckDOG]

Outside of having family connections to one or the other, what about Jackson, MS makes it a more desirable place to live than Memphis, TN? Again, please be specific.

 

[coach66]

in the future of Jackson in its current state, private investors aren't lining up to lift Jackson out of its abyss.

 

[OMlawdog]

I mean seriously?

Have you driven up Magazine lately. Uptown New Orleans is really a great place to live right now.

Are you talking about the French Quarter? 9th Ward? New Orleans isn't Canal Street, New Orleans Is St. Charles.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I like what Jackson State is doing with the area around its campus for example.

 

[EmoryBellard]

[No message]

 

[Johnson85]

Except for the difference in size, seems to be just personal preference between the three. In all three, you can live in the city and pay for private schools or move to the suburbs and have decent to good schools. All three have unqualified municipal gov't officials and employees that are either corrupt or incompetent or both. You have an eroded tax base and the remaining voting population is trying to stick it to the people with means that committed the crime of not abandoning the city proper. Groups of businesses and business leaders fighting the good fight, trying to undo the damage done by the municipal gov'ts and school boards. You have fairly generic small metropolitan areas. Not a ton of character or personality, just enough of a population to offer more stuff to do than the small southern towns and cities nearby.

None of them are the worst place to live, they're just all a lot worse than they should be.

ETA: All have a significant amount of crime, but you can basically avoid it altogether by living and staying in the burb's, or basically only be exposed to property crime if you're smart about where you go and what time you go there if you need/want to be in the city.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

...as much as my preference that charter schools be in districts that aren't doing well in comparison to other Mississippi school districts.

 

[Xenomorph]

...to pile on and say what a buffoon you are for comparing Memphis and Jackson to New Orleans.

 

[ckDOG]

Personal opinion is that I'd give Memphis the edge for 2 things: 1) more entertainment options (sporting events, more developed downtown, festivals, etc.) and 2) more areas to live in or close to the city (although Jackson is improving)

I'm biased because I live in the city of Memphis and enjoy it. I did grow up in the Jackson area and still frequent it to visit parents and friends. My observation is that if you are a younger person that wants to be in or near the city and entertainment options, I think Memphis is the clear winner. There's just more stuff to do with plenty of fairly affordable housing options near downtown, midtown, or in east Memphis. If you have a family and want to get to the burbs for lower property crime rates and better schools, you should find a very similar experience in either city. As you mentioned, both cities have had similar life cycles and crime profiles. Memphis is just on a larger scale.

 

[MemphisMaroon]

..The last time I was in Memphis, I realized I owed Newark, New Jersey an apology.


The last time I was in New Orleans, I longed for the sweet smell & vibrant ambience of downtown Detriot, Michigan.

It's impossible to overstate what tremendous shitholes Memphis & New Orleans have turned into. But somehow Jackson has steered clear of such decay.


Jackson is Yellowstone National Park compared to Memphis & New Orleans.

And here I was thinking that NAFOOM posters who characterize sixpack posters as grumpy, angry,old men was a badstereotype. Live in Memphis and was in New Orleans over the weekend, granted, I don't live/ spend much time in the ghettos, but I enjoy myself in those two cities. Jackson on the other hand, is like Memphis or New Orleans without the redeeming qualities of any kind of entertaining night life, pro-sports, or any reason I would ever pay money to visit the city outside of a wedding. Memphis, New Orleans > Jackson, and its not even freaking close.

 

[mayhemdawg]

The Public School System in Jackson is horrible, that is why either kids go to private schools or live in the surrounding cities like Flowood, Madison, Brandon, Pearl and Clinton. These elected officials are nothing but elected criminals and use tax dollars for their own projects i.e.(Kenneth Stokes). Everytime you turn on the news, at least one person is dead due to a gun shot, drug deal gone bad, somebody stealing something and/or just some crackhead needing a some more crack. If you look who is running the city, schools, and the streets, those are your 3 main problems. I always tell my wife never go into South and/or West Jackson either during the day and especially at night. I think some areas of Jackson can be upgraded for the better, but it's going to take money, the right people to handle that money and make people feel safe when they are in Jackson.

 

[thatsbaseball]

nm

 

[Big Sheep81]

nm

 

[JackShephard]

When it goes down of course. Mayans are pretty much Indians so I'm sure they hate us too.

 

[patdog]

The entertainment and sports facilites for the whole Jackson metro area are embarrassing. We've got Trustmark Park and that's it. His suggestion, which I think is a great one, is that someone needs to build an amphitheater somewherenear Madison (or near Trustmark park). It's not as expensive as a coliseum but you could still get some good concerts, etc. there.

 

[DerHntr]

I have never heard of anyone getting all excited about heading down to Jackson for a trip longer than a few daysthat doesn't involve seeing family, going to a wedding, going to a graduation, going to a concert, etc. Comparing it to New Orleans is terrible.

 

[Shmuley]

nm

 

[ckDOG]

Here's a blueprint to follow: http://snowdengroveamphitheater.com/

If Southaven can support one, Jackson metro can. I'm sure there are Memphis people that go to this venue occasionally, but I'm pretty sure this is mainly Southaven/Olive Branch folks supporting it.

 

[OMlawdog]

<span> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NAkIFLr882M?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425" allowScriptAccess="never" ></embed> </span>

 

[bill brasky.sixpack]

I would explain why that is wrong on so many levels but you aren't worth the effort<div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"></div>

 

[MarriedtoStateGrad]

The Charter school bill would have been a step in the right direction. Only so many families can afford to send their children to private school.
I am paying over $4K for kindergarten. The cost to attend Prep, JA, and St. Andrews will be well over $20K per year by the time my children are in High School.

The money you will save with 2 children that age will pay for the house. Plus, your taxes are lower.

 

[Caoch34]

A 14k capacity ampitheater was part of the proposal for a water park along I-55 a year or so ago. Of course, the Madison socialites felt that a water park was beneath them so it's not going to happen. I guess a wave pool made of brick wouldn't be all that fun anyway

 

[Goat Still Grindin]

Memphis and Birmingham have it beat mainly in sheer size. If Jackson was bigger, you might compare them. But as of now, Jack-town in on the same playing field with M'gomery and Macon, GA.

 

[Damn-Dog]

Not that this is breaking news or anything