Jackson Jambalaya

It is worse than that.

As someone who grew up in the Jackson area and then left, it is not so much "too few urban and economic magnets" that prevent me from moving home, but the threat of violent crime.

Ummm. Nope. We all see the continued growth of the suburbs. The city of Jackson is a difficult sell to a middle class family who can't afford a private school. White or black. The commenter is way off base.

Sadly, this is the truth. Is and has been. A couple of years ago my company was trying to locate its 50-person headquarters from Orlando, Florida. Jackson was nominated, but quickly discarded. The professional staff came and looked and said 'no dice." The reasons included poor schools, lack of cultural attractions, crime,a substandard and expensive airport. Jackson didn't even make it to the second cut. The company moved to Plano, Texas.

Why is crime so bad is such a small town? Random violence is and should be more common in big urban cities. Most folks know each other I would assume or have only few degrees of Kevin Bacon at the most.

Jackson is a small town and will never be anything else. The public schools are awful and will continue to be awful.

Unless and until the leaders make a dramatic change or offer something so unique to draw younger people, this will always be a sleep village.

The State hit it out of the park with "gaming."

We could have done the same with dope....but the leaders failed us.

I suggest we legalize dope and prostitution....regulate it and tax it. We can always pray for them while they pay us taxes to rebuild our roads, water and sewer.

I am not holding my breath however. I expect Jackson (and MS) will die on the vine along with other stodgy old places.

Um, Jackson's population may be shrinking, but MS's has been growing steadily since the 90s.

This is horrible news for the rest of us. As more Jackson residents leave, they will only come to our neighborhoods and continue to bring them down as well.

McGraw's response is that of a simpleton. To allude that the choice in Mississippi is either a magnet bereft Jackson or "rural life" is inaccurate.

@11:10 AM sounds like Jake McGraw is still tipsy from drinking old Creative Class koolaid.

Sad to say that this State's leadership has failed across the board. Even more sad is the fact that this is nothing new. The success of Mississippi effects it's capital city and vice versa. So far, it's location in Mississippi has hurt Jackson more than it has helped it.

11:03, let me correct your statement: MS's has (barely) been growing steadily (at a pace slower than the national average) since the 90's (due to it's extremely high teenage pregnancy rate and despite the fact that more people move out of MS than into it).

Jackson's success hinges on our State's leadership needs to make MS more attractive to companies who want to bring in good paying jobs (not just car manufacturing plants). Tea partyish politicians (like Bryant) and the majority of our State congress certainly do not help in making our State look like it's in competent hands.

I am interrupting this doom and gloom to point out something very positive about the Jackson Metro Area.

The Jackson area has the Reservoir which is a beautiful location for sailing, boating and fishing. I'm a small boat sailor and can tell you after sailing my little dinghy out of Gulfport, Lake Pontchartrain and Mobile Bay, the Reservoir is as aesthetically pleasing as any of those other places. The view over the water, especially at sunset, from any boat on the Rez is the best view in this area hands down.

I say all this because I think people in our area often forget about what is available at the Reservoir. I've sailed many beautiful days, especially in the Fall and Spring, when there was hardly another boat out. Even racing on Sundays, except in June to August, there are just not that many other boats out besides the sail boats participating in the races.

So when you get down about this area, remember we also have a unique venue in the Rez close by. And if you want to learn how to sail, well, the JYC teaches sailing.

The real question is :
I left Jackson because:
1. crime
2. roads
3 high taxes
4. bad water and sewer lines
5. K. Stokes
6. permit system
7. attitude of city workers
8. taxes wasted
9. renaming streets after supporters
10. all of the above

10:48...Why is crime so bad...? Could it be demographics?

Thank you, Robert. Jackson can improve. Some parts of town (like Fondren, Eastover, and downtown) are already improving. There are many people inside the city limits that care deeply for their community and work hard to make it a better place. Not everyone has to be negative towards the city. Thank you for exemplifying that.

McGraw works for an organization that exists to promote a narrative, not to objectively analyze facts.

Mississippi has plenty of problems, and the shift to urban areas is one of them. But what's happening in Jackson is fundamentally different. It's not the lack of an influx of outsiders; it's the mass departure of former residents to the suburbs. Jackson might need new professionals to be like Nashville or Charlotte, but it only needed to hold on to middle class families to be like Boise or Winston-Salem.

Meanwhile, Madison --for all its flaws-- holds its own with the most affluent, desirable suburbs in the country.

Correct me if am wrong, but not one acre of Hindes County makes up any part of reservoir property.

12:35.......you could have listed No. 5 twice.........

"I suggest we legalize dope and prostitution....regulate it and tax it. We can always pray for them while they pay us taxes to rebuild our roads, water and sewer."

ROTFLMAO

That comment made my day.

12:35 nailed it...need to add deplorable schools to the list as well. McGraw is either an idiot or was ask a question he didn't feel he could answer honestly and keep his job.

' Some parts of town (like Fondren, Eastover, and downtown) are already improving. There are many people inside the city limits that care deeply for their community and work hard to make it a better place. Not everyone has to be negative towards the city. Thank you for exemplifying that.'

You obviously never watch the local news, or go downtown.

1:10 Rez is considered part of the Jackson Metro Area that Robert referred to.

I'm not sure of the original intent of the reservoir, but the way it stands now is woefully underutilized.
- There's no way to really enjoy the water unless you own a boat. Only a few people own boats, most don't want that bother. But why not a single party boat that you can walk on and enjoy some time on the water? A floating restaurant and bar?
- I don't understand why a man-made beach was not a part of the plan.
-There are very few housing options to be directly on the reservoir. A few houses by Rice Rd, and the Breakers condos. That's it, at least on the ridgeland Madison side. The houses on the Brandon side are tucked away, not directly facing the open water.
- Few restaurant offerings on the reservoir. Except for the broken down Pelican Cove and Cock of the Walk. There's no demand for a middle or high end place on the water? Really?

It's this kind of poor planning that makes people shrug their shoulders and not want to live hear. We went through the trouble of building this reservoir but then don't go the last mile to make it accessible and pretty for everyone.

1:10 says: "Correct me if am wrong, but not one acre of Hindes (sic) County makes up any part of reservoir property."

Okay, 1:10, consider yourself corrected. There is a small amount of acreage near the dam to the west of the river that is in Hinds County. Further, the Reservoir is considered part and parcel of the water supply for the City of Jackson. There is an appointee on the PRVWSD Board from Hinds County. So, Jackson/Hinds County has some say in the operation of the PRVWSD.

Hard to plan and participate in a decent community when you're using so much energy just trying to keep your head down. Where there is no vision...

A man made beach? At the reservoir? Think about that for a second, and the type of people it would bring. I don't think that would help the reservoir at all.

This is the real issue. Most persons are short sighted. They can only think of how something with benefit them or their cause. The reason Jackson is suffering is because of poor leadership starting 40 years ago. Those leaders made policies and decisions that benefited their supporters or interest groups. Fast forward to today. The same is holding true whether it is the state level leadership (white republicans ) or local leadership ( black -democrats in the case of Jackson) or white republicans in the case of the surrounding suburbs. Long term poor leadership degrades all of us in the long term. The Jackson mess started in the 60's. Forty years from now we will be calling Madison, Brandon, etc. the new Jackson. Until we all craft policy and actions that are long term in nature, we will suffer the same plight. Remember on key point. A democracy can only survive for a limited time before greed and hate tears it apart. So we should all stop being driven by issues that cause us to brand or stereotype people into class warfare.

I've been trying to get Crechale's on the Rez for years....seems like a logical move to me.

Mississippi is only one of two states who's economy SHRUNK during 2014. Yet, we will trudge to the polls in November and re-elect Feel as a champion of economic development.

" Madison --for all its flaws-- holds its own with the most affluent, desirable suburbs in the country." Bwahahahahaha. Yeah. It's Malibu East. It's Greenwich South. Yep. Folks in droves are moving to Madison MS for its Wal Mart with cinderblocks painted red. Classsssssyyyyy!!! The Madison airport is lined with Gulfstreams as the "affluent" stand in awe at your red brick motif. Son, Madison is probably about the 2nd or 3rd best place to live. It's good enough for me. But that's in the state ranked 50th. While I am proud of my state, this is just about the most ludicrous statement you could make. It's a redlined white enclave with a thousand year old white mayor/realtor who has created a Little McKinney to serve white flight and breed Ole Miss frat boys. Nothing more. Money? More like dual income millenials with debt, but a sprinkling of cotton planter inheritance. Boy Howdy. Ain't Madison something? They done got another chain restaurant and a third tier chef. Along with a North Face outlet. Yep. Madison has arrived. Look out, McLean!!!! No. Madison is not among the most desirable places in the U.S., or even the South. Mississippi, sure, we'll give you that. It's like buying a Range Rover and a Viking and thinking you're in Palo Alto. Not even Madison Alabama. Get real.

1:06pm. Madison is great. But have you ever been to a real affluent suburb? Saks, Neimans, Nordstroms, Barney's? an upscale mall with a real high end department store. Love Madison but... Not enough civic, cultural or other fun distractions of an affluent suburb. They aren't tipping cows but it's still pretty country in the perimeter.

IMHO, crime is the top reason residents and businesses leave… political corruption is a close second. We need a sherif who has proven himself on the streets and willing to lead from the front instead of one who is really nothing more than a politician (I almost added corrupt, but that's only a personal suspicion). How many $60K+ "desk commanders" has Tyrone appointed so far? He's too busy preparing his congressional campaign and promoting guns for gas to worry about all the unexecuted warrants for known criminals that have piled up. Jackson and Hinds County can improve, but it will take a Buford H. Pusser type sherif to stop the lawlessness… Les Tannehill has my vote!

The main reason peoples are leaving Jackson is because of the waterworks curve. The curves are like the ones you find in a mountain pass. There is always an accident at 8AM & 5:30 PM each day.

Read some of Jake's other ramblings. Let him get a job where he has to be a producer of anything other than liberal goulash.

@2:00 -"There are very few housing options to be directly on the reservoir. A few houses by Rice Rd, and the Breakers condos. That's it, at least on the ridgeland Madison side. The houses on the Brandon side are tucked away, not directly facing the open water."

You must not visit the Brandon side very often. There are tons of homes directly on the open water. Have you ever heard of Palisades, Arbor Landing, Fox Bay....etc?

There are also parks along the water that many people frequent and if you want you can get in the water. There are also grassy areas where many people picnic and relax by the water and bring their dogs to play. I think you should do your research a little more on what the Reservoir has to offer. And the Pelican Cove is not that bad. Small yes, but certainly not broken down. But I do agree that there needs to be more restaurants in that area.

3:36 and 3:19, I'm certain I have more direct knowledge than either of you, having lived in Arlington, MA; Falls Church, VA; and Brentwood, TN.

Madison isn't an equal to those places, but it absolutely does "hold its own" -- i.e., it can be reasonably compared to them. For example, Madison's public schools are better than Brentwood's and about equal to most in Northern Virginia (had kids in all 3, FYI). Its property values continue to rise, which is more than you can say for Arlington. Per capita income is about the same as Brentwood (I know, actual numbers, right? No fair!) It lacks big name stores, but you're looking at 45 minutes to get to the Saks in Boston. And Madison is making some strides with Renaissance.

It all depends on what you prefer. That said, I've had people from places like the ones above over to our house and they are uniformly impressed with the community.

I'll let 3:19 continue screaming now. Maybe he can tell us about that one time he went to a big city on an airplane.

Why is there so much talk about the Rez? We going to make side bets on first speedy development completion between Harbor Walk and Farrish Street?

"Madison --for all its flaws-- holds its own with the most affluent, desirable suburbs in the country."

Seriously?

Madison is nice enough for Missississippi, but IN THE COUNTRY!?!!

Are you on dope? Have out ever been out of Mississippi or the south?

We need to get a definitive answer on this from Tom Head, Ph.D.

"The inability to retain and attract people who have the option to live elsewhere is, and always has been, Mississippi's defining challenge". "Jackson's fate is tied to that of the STATE"

The ignorance of the posters on this site is mind boggling most of the time. Anytime they THINK something is related to Jackson they pounce. The article and statistic is more a reflection of the entire state of Mississippi than it is of Jackson. Thus the quote from the article above. NONE of the places you people like to brag about would exist without the City of Jackson. It's actually that simple. At some point your ignorance may make you see the light but I doubt it. If the City of Jackson doesn't prosper then the State of Mississippi doesn't prosper.

Every growing city I am familiar with has a least one major industry that's contributes to the city's growth. Many have several. Jackson has none. Bernie had a dream until it turned into a nightmare. Grew up in and lived I the Jackson area but traveled through out the SE and SW. Moved to Austin 6 years ago. Great opportunities for young people. But it comes at a price, very expensive housing, traffic,don't ask,property taxes out of sight. But no state income tax, public schools in select areas excellent. I'll sell here and move back, eventually. Slower pace, less expensive but it will be in Rankin, Madison or the Coast.
the Jackson metro has a lot to offer, transportation, 2 major interstates, rail,water, 45 miles from the Mias, 150 from the coast, an airport with a customs office, cheap land for development. Someone else with means needs to have a dream

My adult hometown is outside Jackson. The area is growing. I work in Jackson and stay downtown during the workweek.

Downtown Jackson is pleasant and a very small town atmosphere if you use common sense and don't wander around at night. But people get robbed and killed here.

Hometown has a bad crime problem as well. The local paper had a headline about three shoplifters being arrested early this week.

Guess where I'm going to retire?

I love it when articles like this get circulated. I live in the city of Jackson and enjoy a great quality of life. Jackson is a well-kept secret which keeps our cost of living down. Folks in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, etc can keep their traffic and exhorbitant cost of living! I enjoy visiting those places but love coming home to Jackson.

Overlook point and Roses Bluff are great on the water homes on the Madison county side. Only problem is that they not many homes available.

"1:10 says: "Correct me if am wrong, but not one acre of Hindes (sic) County makes up any part of reservoir property."

Okay, 1:10, consider yourself corrected. There is a small amount of acreage near the dam to the west of the river that is in Hinds County. Further, the Reservoir is considered part and parcel of the water supply for the City of Jackson. There is an appointee on the PRVWSD Board from Hinds County. So, Jackson/Hinds County has some say in the operation of the PRVWSD.

In other words, Jackson ain't got shit to do with the Rez. I just wish they would open the cage doors at the Zoo and let the pitiful animals out, might decrease the thug population.

"But why not a single party boat that you can walk on and enjoy some time on the water? A floating restaurant and bar?"

There is at least one of those. We rented it for my daughter's birthday party two or three years ago.

Robert P. Wise points out the undeniable beauty of the Reservoir. That is partially what attracted the annual Bass fishing tournament here, that then attracted the fisherman here who was murdered in his hotel by a local thug. That tournament will never return to Jackson.

Natural beauty comes in a distant second to fearing for your life. Word travels, and I haven't heard of any out of town tournaments coming in to replace it. The entrants would undoubtedly skip it.

"The Jackson mess started in the 60's. "

1860s, right? :-)

Admit it - it's not like this was Paris on the Pearl River prior to the 1960s

Ok. I don't hate Brandon. Or Flowood. Or Pearl. I don't hate Madison, or Ridgeland, or Canton or Brookhaven or Vicksburg, or McComb. Come to think of it, I don't hate Starkville or Oxford or Hattiesburg. For that matter, I don't hate Meridian or Gulfport or Senatobia or Grenada. Ditto for Greenwood, Greenville, Indianola, Winona, Forrest,Tchula, Lexington or Clarksdale. I could go on. I live in Jackson because I chose to live in Jackson. Bad news travels fast. There are good things happening in Jackson too. Why is it that so many feel a need to hate Jackson? You obviously don't live here. Give it a rest. Better, get a life.

Jackson is like an old antebellum home. It's seen better years, but has character and potential. Is it too far gone to repair? Some think so. It has very expensive and costly problems to repair (infrastructure; crime) much like an old home.

It's cheaper to move to the suburbs or build a new house in an area that doesn't have those expensive problems.

I love being from and living in Mississippi. I choose to stay here and live and work because it's where I'm from, and I want to strive to make it a better place. I live in Brandon, but support Jackson as much as I can (shopping, dining, etc.)

"It all depends on what you prefer. That said, I've had people from places like the ones above over to our house and they are uniformly impressed with the community. "

Ditto. My sister lives in Vienna, VA (voted #1 town to live in a few years ago) and she is jealous of my home in Madison. Same size house, same amount of land, (she has better fixtures in her house) but mine was one-third the price of mine. No traffic compared to he commute, and crime in Jackson is comparable to D.C. Way better shopping in Tyson's Corner, with shops that do not exist anywhere in Mississippi. Also more celebrities and rich people sightings than around here, for those who care about that. Schools are comparable, and our kids all landed in top-tier colleges.

For the record, though, all the great stuff going on in Renaissance is due to Ridgeland - Queen Mary has kept out riff raff like Ruth's Chris Steak House and Seafood Revolution (sarcasm off).

The only people leaving Jackson because of crime are older Caucasian people who will never leave the State of Mississippi under any circumstances. Younger Caucasian and African-Americans are leaving Jackson because there are no jobs in the technological field in Mississippi. To stay here is a waste of a good education. The few corporate jobs in Mississippi are already being held by older Caucasian men who never retires. Moving to Madison or Rankin doesn't increase job availability; most of the people living in those areas still work in Jackson. So basically they are not afraid of being in Jackson those eight hours each day.

If you people think the schools in Jackson are bad, apparently you haven't been to other smaller areas in the state. I wish my old high school had all the resources and offered classes as JPS. However, kids from my high school still ended up at Ole Miss and Miss. State with the kids from JPS and all the private schools in the state, and we competed with them just fine. I graduated from Ole Miss with several kids from Jackson Prep, and some of us are employed together right now. We all make the same salaries. The difference is I had a school loan, and some of them didn't.

10:38. Jackson Public schools- ah you are talking about the graduates. Only about a 60 percent graduation rate. Why, if you are middle class and can't afford a private school, would you risk your child's education on a 60 percent graduation rate? Of course there are plenty of JPS 2015 graduates that will go to college and do extremely well in life. Clinton public schools are half black, half white. 90 percent graduation. Madison central-93 percent. Let's face it-a lot of kids in Jackson born into their situation keep their nose clean,
Go to college , and leave. It's black flight- it's real.

Who wants to be the first to revitalize the neighborhood around the zoo? Anyone, anyone???

As long as there is a significant indigent population that uses the school system as a baby sitter and free meal provider, the vicious cycle will continue to churn. I have a friend who taught "gifted" kids in JPS for years and she regularly runs into her former students working as bus boys and line cooks. She saw one working on the back of a garbage truck. These are JPS graduates with high school diplomas, for goodness' sake!

I once left my office late and two of the custodians who looked to be in their 20s were talking about when they were at Jim Hill. I didn't stop to ask if they had graduated, but regardless, here were two more JPS products who were mopping out toilets for a living.

This will not change. There are too many takers and not enough producers in Jackson. gripe all you want, but his is a real problem.

If you had the option between Nashville, Birmingham, New Orleans, or Jackson...why the hell would anyone pick Jackson!

The name says it all.

We left because of the crime: ie: Drug dealers selling drugs in the street, while my 3 year old daughter watched.
We left because of the repeated gun fire at night and sometimes even during the daylight hours.
We left because someone opened a auto repair shop in their front yard, killed all the grass and would not maintain the property.
We left because a new neighbor let his swimming pool turn into a cesspool and the city officials would do nothing about it.
We left because our car was stolen from our garage, and the police were no help to recover it.
We left because the taxes were raised to provide repairs to the city infrastructure, that never happened.
We left because another neighbor was trapping the neighborhood pets and eating them.
I could go on...but I am sure you get the point.

yep...shrinking at a rate faster than Yahoo! itself. They should recognize shrinkage when they see it.

The real problem is Mississippians arguing like children!

I've lived in 4 states and this is the ONLY one where people trash each other's cities or town rather than be advocates for their ENTIRE State!

Lord helps us, y'all arguing over which is better, urban living or suburban living. Might as well argue over whether apples are better than oranges!

Mississippi has had all the potential resources to thrive and the ONLY thing that has held it back is Mississippians being unable to co-operate with one another for the benefit of the entire State!

This is a beautiful State to visitors! Most of those visitors leave wondering why WE are either negative, defensive and not doing what could easily done among ourselves. And they are wonder why we are bickering among ourselves and yet we can be so pleasant and hospitable to them!

And, the tribalism that feeds corruption is beyond belief!

I'd support my tax dollars going to help the costal towns run their sewage pipes out past the barrier islands. I'd put money into Vicksburg and Natchez to help them become better tourist attractions and get rid of the blight and shabby areas preventing that from happening. And, yes improving schools in those towns and this State's capitol city would bring money into ALL the State.

There have been a few good leaders with vision who have tried but not even followers! Leaders need followers but instead every leader gets blasted from the gate.

And, I'm sick of the excuse that our schools aren't good and that's the problem. Do y'all really think Charleston has great public schools or Atlanta? Do you really believe Madison's public school are rated highly nationally and that's why we got Nissan? Do y'all not know our private schools are FAR less expensive than in most of the country?

Did crime keep Charleston from getting tourists when it was bad or New Orleans? Not so you'd notice all that much! And, I know for damn sure that some of you who say you are afraid to go to Jackson went to New Orleans and to Charleston and other places but you won't support a city in your own State?

God help us!

Agreed. In baton rouge there is Baker, Zachary, Central, Denham, Prairieville, Brusly, Port Allen, and Walker. Three decent communities out of all those burbs but there is none of the back and forth crap you see here.

In NOLA there are the burbs as well but well, Kenner has been everyone's whipping boy for a long time.

Yes, God help us and protect us from the know-it-alls like @7:50 AM.

6:49, You're COMPLAINING about products of a PUBLIC high school in Mississippi having JOBS? In most cases, a high school education qualifies a person for precisely the jobs you're describing. And what's WRONG with those jobs?

Yes, a few high school graduates with exceptional motivation and 'soft skills' can become affluent without supplementing that basic education. But those people are rare. Most have to, at the very least, go to a community college, to become trained and certified in something specific, to get to the better paying jobs.

And where else in America can a person making Minimum Wage afford a nice home with a big yard? West Jackson is full of lovely homes, priced within the reach of someone making under twenty thousand a year.

9:40PM- WRONG. That tournament returned this year with an even greater attendance. Plus there are talks of another larger tournament coming to the Reservoir for the first time.

Really 9:17? This is all you come up with after reading the diverse opinions expressed on this thread? Methinks 7:50 must have hit a nerve...

There are many problems in Jackson that are fixable. What has prevented progress in the 20 years I’ve lived here is much harder to fix – absence of leadership. White flight and Black flight have drained the community of its most precious resource: people with the willingness to roll up their sleeves and get to work. The surrounding communities have siphoned off the tax-dollars necessary to maintain infrastructure and invest in improvements. More devastating is the loss of vision, wisdom and determination. It is much easier to pack your bags and escape – I get it. But moving five miles north, south, east or west doesn’t entitle you to sit back and lob verbal stones. YOU left. YOU or your families could have helped make a difference...

11:13 - The premise of your comment is on track, but you leave out the most important piece for most of us that left....our family's safety. If my family is most at peace living outside of Jackson, then that's where we'll be, savior complex be damned. Please don't forget, NE JXN was the white flight destination of the 1950s-1980s. You are correct, moving a few miles away and lobbing stones doesn't benefit anyone, but neither does lobbing them the other direction from the suburb of yesteryear.

10:50

Are you disguising yourself... you were 7:50 before.

Most logical folks agree with 9:17. The 7:50 comments are bloviating.

I keep asking myself WHY the suburbanites OBSESS on my home town Jackson. Geez Louise this gets plain ass silly.

Jackson is a cesspool. Politicians ruined it with greedy taxes.


Smart people know when to throw in the towel. Perhaps afters it's done, it can be cleaned up and rebuilt.

Because....Nothing short of extermination of the criminals, unconstitutional, would save it from itself.

Going going gone:

1990 - 2000: white flight = 35,000 left Jackson - remaining white population was 25% of total Jackson population
2000 - 2010: white flight = 21,000 left Jackson - remaining white population in 2010 was 18% of total Jackson population. The trend is that roughly 40% of remaining white population leaves Jackson each 10 years. If the trend continues then of the remaining 31,961 whites in Jackson in 2010, 12,784 will leave by 2020. Assuming an overall total population decrease of only 3% (which is very conservative and half the decrease from 2000-2010), then whites will represent 11% of the total population of 168,104 in 2020.

Keep in mind that according to the US Census Bureau numbers, 30% of the population in Jackson is at or below the poverty level. They pay no property taxes. Of the the remaining population I estimate less than 25% pay residential property taxes. The highest property taxes are in the predominately white and more affluent neighborhoods.

Conclusion: residential tax base is gone and not coming back. The remaining 11% white contribution to the city tax coffers by 2020 will not be anywhere close to enough to fix or even maintain infrastructure (water, sewer, schools, fire, police, etc.)

Now go look at the trend in Detroit over the same period - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_history_of_Detroit. You will see exactly the same thing occur. White evacuation - No tax base left therefore no money to maintain infrastructure - result was bankruptcy in 2013 and a city that is dead for all intents and purposes.

Jackson will probably not bankrupt since it is the state capital - legislature will not let it happen - embarrassment, but the death spiral will continue. Nothing to stop it. It may reach terminal velocity and the acceleration stop, but the velocity vector on this puppy is straight down.

We can all point fingers of why this happened, and who is responsible but that is a discussion usually held by the accident investigators. We are living it out instead.

3:19 (1st comment, not 2nd): Feel Bryant is gonna stop all the gays and the abortions, that's all that matters. Low-info voters kill our state.

But he ain't gonna lift a finger to stop all the adulterous Republican officeholders from BSing the voting public that the Mississippi GOP is the party of "Mississippi values".

Get out while you are still alive!!

9:17 am " Killing the messenger" is a juvenile argument...really , really elementary school level!

So point out where my assessment is wrong! Give me some examples of economically successful State that don't support their capitol city and dog cuss their neighboring cities all the damn time and argue whether suburban living is better than urban living!

I love my home city. It is, by far, the largest and arguably the most important city in this State. It is where people who may invest in Misssissippi or move jobs here likely visit. It has several amenities that cannot be found elsewhere in our region, such as a children's museum, a zoo, and an actual downtown area. For all it's problems, I still find it a great place to live. One poster gleefully pointed out that the City is becoming more black. Well, some of us have joined the 21st century and do not care if our neighbors are black. Have fun at your next Flat Earth Society meeting. We have pointed out that the area is full of people that somehow, have nothing better to do than to trash other areas. Some have called it "back and forth." However, for every one Jacksonian on here I see bashing the burbs, I see ten people from the surrounding area bashing Jackson - often for no apparent reason. There are a lot of people in Jackson who would love to work with our suburban neighbors to make our entire metro area a more inviting place. That is, until their vitriol makes cooperation near impossible.

Why is Jackson losing residents. Why should I allow my children to play and associate with those that are allowed to hang out at homes where adults/teens just hang out and chill, with nobody ever having a job. Why do parents send children for a free summer meal at some school because there's no food, but on Memorial Day or July 4th, there seems to be plenty on the grill. These same children WILL go to the State Fair for $25/head. They also have expensive game systems and I regularly see many parents of those participating in the free summer meal program, purchasing $30 games and $15 music CD'S. Free-loaders breed free-loaders.

I'm having such a good laugh over all you folks arguing about a Yahoo news article. Hardly the bastion of journalism. It's almost as funny as the World Cup executive using an Onion piece to defend himself.

You can go over to the Ledger 8:24 PM and comment on the moldy donut or seersucker suits articles if that is sort of journalism more equivalent to the level of your IQ.

Yup, Jackson is only arguably the most important city in the State and none of that is of Jackson's doing beyond the state government and medical field residence there.

Jackson is also arguably the most violent, crime ridden and dysfunctional city in Mississippi. Extremely few people beyond the most ardent Jackson groupies would argue that point.

2:45 PM

Scary stats.

Probably correct.

Of course AAs could step up, open businesses, employ locals, and fill the void right?

Wrong.

Have you seen a single AA business thrive? Name them. Please prove me wrong.

It is bizarre and painful to watch.

Time to move.

9:31. You're obviously wrong. Jackson has been the capitol for much longer than it has been out largest and most important city. Since 1822, that title has gone to Vicksburg and Meridian, neither of which were ever the capitol. So, you are wrong in saying that's the only reason Jackson is Mississippi's biggest city by 100,000 people.

You are also wrong to say Jackson is the State's most dangerous city. Indianola is. Good people here outnumber the bad - by a very wide margin. If you get 100% of your perspective from watching WLBT and their quest to promote the "piece of burger" guy, you may miss that. Just as the media skews the image of Mississippi as a whole, so does the local media skew the image of its capitol city. Ironic, I know.

The only correct statement you made was that Jackson is our capitol and the medical center for our State. That's and Jackson's success reflects on the entire State of Mississippi. It makes sense then, not to make it your own personal punching bag whenever you think you possibly can.

As an outsider, it didn't take long for me to learn the State is divided into 3 sections that hate one another. Two say the Delta has irresponsible drunks that party all the time and there was only one decent school there. Two say the coast has people that are criminals and it's as corrupt as Louisiana and more like those folks. Two say central MS has Jackson where the people are arrogant and backstabbing and the rest are rednecks or former moonshiners. And, that's the white folks talking about the white folks.

It took a little longer to learn that within those 3 sections, the people also hate other communities in their section like we see with the Madison, Rankin, Hinds/Jackson thing ( but most everyone looks down on poor Pearl which also has some very fine folks I've met).

Of course, Ole Miss and State people can't possibly pull for one another when the other is playing even a Yankee team or the much hated LSU or Alabama.

The only unity seems with those hating the other race and that's beyond dysfunctional in the way it plays out or some unity within certain denominations feeling superior to other denominations.

It's great being outsider. Everybody's been friendly and nice to me. And, so I get to see that Mississippi is a beautiful State with wonderful resources and attributes and most ALL of the people of Mississippi are really basically good and decent folks.

How did y'all come to dislike each other so much ? Did the Klan rule days make hate part of the cultural attitudes? Did you so come to fear and distrust one another that you can't get past that?

Some days, this is like adopting a beautiful child that you love to pieces and that is smart and funny and capable of great kindness to chosen friends, but either sides with the bully at school or is the bully at school and sees the world in black and white. That beautiful child can't seem to understand that learning to play well with others is an important skill in life and that team skills matter off the playing fields. The child can't imagine being mistaken about anything or understand there are different roads to the same place and it's getting where you need to go that matters more than how you get there. You never get there just fussing about which route to take.

If the Legislature could move state govt out of Jackson they would. In the blink of an eye.

And your point, 7:49? Unfortunately, Mississippi has perhaps the most incompetent Legislature in the entire United States! As a group, they have shown it again and again and again. Sadly, they have not slowed down in showing it today! As a result, Mississippi has suffered and languishes at the bottom of nearly every (good)list imaginable. Thank God for limits on what the Mississippi Legislature can do!

Thank goodness due to redistricting, and massive population loss, the incompetent Legislature has fewer incompetent legislators representing Jackson. Maybe there is a chance to get off the bottom of some lists now with the reduction of legislative influence coming from dysfunctional Jackson.

Yeah, because Jackson ever had the majority of legislators. Are you really that dense or are you just trying that hard?

I saw today streets being repaved in OverLook point on the Madison County side of the Res. Beautiful clean pothole free streets that will be that way for many years to come. When the City of Jackson had to" fix" the streets at CCJ for the PGA a very half ass job was done that was a joke. There are some wonderful places to live in the Metro area but not in the City of Jackson

Why do you obsess 9:59. Why do you care that I like it here? What does being a smart assed, child with your comments do for your ego? What in your demented self derives pleasure from tearing Jackson down? Are you racist? Ask your self. Are you?

1:12

Don't flatter yourself… no one cares that you 'like it here'.

I'm just moving my family to the Jackson metro area. I'd love to live in NE Jackson or Fondren. There are some beautiful homes for bargain prices in the city. We've come to the conclusion that we cannot live within the city. It is unfit for middle class families, no matter the race. Not only are taxes and crime major problems, but they both look like they're steadily getting worse. I can't imagine what the infrastructure will look like in a decade.

When it comes to property taxes, car tags, public safety and schools then Jackson is the last place you want to be.

If you like bathtub sized potholes, random shootings, senseless murders, house and car burglaries, leaking water pipes, boil water alerts, vehicle suspension repair bills, open sewage discharges and the potential that a house with 7 unrelated unsupervised male addicts of undetermined criminal backgrounds (including sex crimes) may become your next door neighbor overnight then Jackson is definitely going to be what you are looking for.

It looks like taking punches at Jackson is a full-time job for some of these posters. I sure hope their spouses have a good job to support them (since this obviously leaves no time for something like an actual job). They seem to be just as pathetic as they claim their capital city to be.

Lol at 12:13 for the OH reference. ALL the Jackson bashers should read the words to the hymn Jesu Jesu. I've been here a year now. Have found 2 great jobs, made several good friends and have enjoyed many places and events the city holds. I have clearly seen and felt the tension between the classes here. If the people would come together perhaps we could make it a better place.

The reasons that Jackson is bashed so much is because it was not always that way and did not have to become so bad. It is that way because the leaders that are selected make it that way. Th people that live in Jackson wanted an all black city now they got it.

6:46, how is it all black? Majority white isn't enough for you? No, you're not racist at all.

When did telling the truth become bashing? Jackson has lived in denial too long.

Everyone is a racist; both black and white. I do not fear that word.