Jackson Jambalaya

Nothing

Work has stopped - see the CL article regarding the City's delayed 2015 audit results. Ratings agency won't let JRA issue bonds until available. Hinds Co. funds have run out until the City can get its financing together...

a hotel near the convention center?

Jackson's Audit Delay

Just wait until a couple of those million $ mentors get to observing. Observing is mighty hard work. The workers will have to work hard to keep up with all of the observing going on.

Time to bring in the Jackson 5.

Someone didn't get paid.
Someone has filed a lien.
Someone has a damn good case for breach of contract
.....looks like someone has to pay....might be the taxpayers

It's all because of white-flight.

Thugs!

7:44, it is always the tax payers. Those making the deals are broke, some can't even afford their house payments.

By the time Jackson gets its act together (I still have hope in my lifetime) this will be a rusting husk that will have to stripped and rebuilt.

Bill Yates will probably buy Jackson,clean it up and lease it back to the state.

all while getting it declared resort status with $242 million in tax incentives or some other sweetheart deal passed by one of our fine state representatives who just happened to receive a recent hefty campaign contribution.

@9:02 like the freaking mayor. What a joke. The whole city leadership team is a joke. wheres kennuff he know who gon fix it.

"We have an incomplete building here Baby Boy"!

Why in the H_LL is Jackson or Hinds County in the hotel business? Won't the so called "owners" be able to sell the hotel or close it just like the motel on the corner of JSU Parkway and Mill or Gallatin, wherever it is. Total failure as a motel and maybe JSU bought it. That is, won't the owners be able to sell it, if they ever get it completed.

Just like Capitol Green or Farish St. -- someone wanted to develop it only IF the City and tax credits would pay for it. Crazy way to go in business.

Who wants those junk bonds. The developer has zero hotel experience. Project is dead on arrival, if it ever sees completion.

Give it a little longer. Everything you see now will be stolen piece at a time and sold as scrap iron.

Looking at that building gives me an idea.

Four words: "Walking Dead Theme Park".

Urban wasteland? Check. Plenty of unemployed folks to play zombies? Check. All we need is the tax incentives.

Did any of you even bother to read the article? What is most alarming is that the City is half way through fiscal 2016 and cannot complete a financial audit for the prior year - we are talking tax-payer dollars that are unaccounted for. Assuming they hired an actual accounting firm to perform this service it appears that essential information is missing. The audit is also how they are supposed to be able to establish a budget for following years - or borrow money. A hotel skeleton is the least of the problems with this picture. The City can't even figure out whether any reserve funds remain - insolvency could be a real possibility...

Is this part of the Bennie Thompson Empowerment Zone?

Superintendent checking the gates told me they are on 4 day per week, 10 hour shifts when I asked where everyone was this morning. They start pretty early in the morning, so they may have been done for the week by 4:30 Thursdsay afternoon. Guess we get to wait and see whether anyone is there Monday.

This is just the torso. Kenneth Stokes' head will be added to this monument as soon as more $ can be found.

10:17, Have you been reading the articles and posts about the city and it's leadership? It has been posted many times about the crooked dealing of the Jackson elected officials. Even had a video of the city council asking for the mayor to explain the finances of the city, including the reserve fund. Evidentially the mayor didn't have time to do that.
It has been posted about all of the under table agreements and contracts where city officials, family, and friends receive kick backs from the contractor.
There has been articles about the mentor program where the contractor pays millions of dollars for a special person to observe them working.
Everyone knows what is going on but it is very hard to get anyone to do anything about it. No politician wants to be called racist. Jackson city officials yell racist at the first glance at their operations. Works very well.

I took the picture at 5. The site looks exactly the same as it did when I arrived at the federal courthouse at 8 that morning.

@11:11 - If everybody knows about City corruption then why hasn't the MS AG or US Atty investigated? The Feds sure busted the MDOC racket and put Epps' butt in a sling. Likewise the recent JRA board-member fraud indictment. I am sure there are instances of malfeasance but I worry more that the budget issues reflect universal incompetence.

That shell of a building sure would make a nice jail for Jackson & Hinds County. Just slap some bars on it, and it's ready to go!!

11:11, Those you mentioned are not going to do a damn thing. Sure the budget issues reflect universal incompetence. What do you expect from people who cannot even handle their own budgets? Do you think they are going to improve? Do you think the people of Jackson are going to elect people with the knowledge and experience to run a city?
Jackson still has a way to drop. Expect more criminal activity since they see how easy it is. Expect to see even more businesses to leave Jackson. I can't see any loss in shoppers as there isn't any right now but do not expect any improvement.

@11:31 - what makes you question where they are? Word on the street is that they are active and have been for some time. You reference the Epps case: just as most every federal investigation, that one took a couple of years before it broke into the open, although it is rumored that some of the targets might have been aware of it for several months before. Wouldn't be surprised to see the same kind of activity regarding the city and its 'contracting' efforts. At least, we can all hope.

Correction: Not 'all'. Mayor and his cohorts are probably hoping for a different result. My bet is that quite a few folks a**holes are already tightening with the Medicaid fraud indictment.

I agree with 11:11 yelling racist has stopped all for years. Hood will have to grow a pair to take on the city counsel, major and on and on. Hood will not because getting elected is the most important thing to him--taking on kennuff or bennie would be to much like right not getting elected.
And who knows Hood could quite probably be in the mix.
Bennie and kennuff have been around for 16 plus years that is one hell of an investigation.
Chances are good Epps was sacrificed because he made someone mad.
My belief is that the AG, other city counsel and all others are scared to death of kennuff therefore NOONE will touch him. Also firmly believe there is great cause for them to be afraid of him. I do not believe there is a line kennuff will not cross.