Monday, August 13, 2018

Mayor Discusses Zoo (Updated)

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba will discuss the recent management changes at the Jackson Zoo at 2:30.  The Facebook Live feed is posted below.



The Mayor said he wants an auditing of the zoo's books. He also said that an RFP will be issued for a management contract for the zoo. However, the Mayor said he "wanted to bring on new management." The Jackson Zoological Society can submit a bid. Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Robert Blaine said he wants to make the zoo part of a "Capitol Street Corridor."

The Mayor also blamed the marketing of the zoo for part of its attendance problems.   The zoo's marketing budget has fallen to nearly nothing as it has lacked the funds to promote itself. 

Kingfish note: Every time I hear the word "grants" used with Capitol Street in this town, another phrase comes to mind: "Sticky fingers." If they want to keep the zoo in West Jackson, then here is a cheaper and prettier alternative.
Earlier post on keeping the zoo in West Jackson.   Of course, this idea doesn't fit into schemes that look great on drawing boards in a manner what would make any WW1 general proud.

One observation, Mr. Mayor.  Its about time you cats realized that this is not just the West Jackson Zoo.  It is the zoo for Central Mississippi.  Schools and visitors from Brookhaven to Vicksburg to Yazoo City are customers of the zoo. Those are customers who can and do go somewhere else.   Don't fall into the trap of Jackson-only thinking.  Oddly enough, it took slumlord City Council President Charles Tillman to point out that obvious fact at the press conference.  

Oh, I went out and took a tour of McLane's in Rankin County last week.  The zoo now has some serious competition.  Don't think others aren't watching to see how it does.  It already uses 60 acres, nearly double the size of the zoo, and has another thousand acres for expansion. 

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm confused - 12:30p or 2:30p? They're late either way.

Anonymous said...

what are the numbers of these festivals such as zoo brew, zoo blues, ice cream safari?

CL makes it sound like thousands upon thousands attend...

Anonymous said...

Why does everyone have to refer to Chris Rock, I mean the mayor by all three names?

Anonymous said...

Another obfuscating press conference from Mayor Jokeway.

Anonymous said...

Why does everyone have to refer to Chris Rock, I mean the mayor by all three names?

I was told they use all three names so the public will not be confused as to which Lumumba is in the news. I am assuming the others are Chokwe Skippy Lumumba and Chokwe Bubba Lumumba.

Anonymous said...

Why is this so hard? Close the thing down and allocate that 900k per year towards the crumbling infrastructure.

Anonymous said...

4:17 PM Too Funny.
The Zoo is dead. Been dead. No new management is going to turn it around. OK Jackson keep throwing money at it.

Anonymous said...

Its sad that this guy is Mayor. He is more concerned that it remains in west jxn than it be successful. I would say the economic impact the zoo has in west Jackson is minimal. They could bus any employees from area to the new zoo
if it was shown that a new location would allow it to survive. This clown fails to recognize that the zoo's ability to survive rest in non Jackson residents. His comments regarding zoo blues and zoo brew were shuck and jive with no relevance to zoo attendance issues.

Anonymous said...

"Capitol Street Corridor" and other made up words...there is no such distinct district. Drive down Cap. St. and you will feel like you are cheating death with every breath.

Anonymous said...

This just in...The manager of the Collins Zoo on Hwy 49 will be taking over operations ASAP. Its all about "mismanagement" of funds.
Hey Mayor/ Chief- nobody wants to venture in to the West JXN hell-hole.

Anonymous said...

Indulge me in a shallow comment (as if that's never happened here before), but the Mayor's PR team should really advise him to trim that beard. I realize it's on trend. I realize a beard makes him appear more mature. But he needs to appear more polished and professional.

THE Glenn said...

Close it down, open the gate, let the animals roam free and watch the hilarity. GO!

Anonymous said...

Have to wonder @7:45 of video what Music Director Blaine had been smoking before the presser. 21st century zoo to collaborate on blight elimination?

Hell with the broken water lines, surface sewage streaming through people's yards, a murder rate on a record breaking pace, the near stampede exodus of the black middle class and near impassable streets. Let's serve up some more pie-in-the-sky about the Zoo!

Anonymous said...

2:57,

I’ve gone to Zoo Brew the last few years. No question that there are at least a couple thousand folks there for it. The place gets packed.

Anonymous said...

RFP still not released. LMAO

Anonymous said...

Close. It. Down. Fix. The. F***king. Potholes.

Anonymous said...

Stokes for Mayor.

Anonymous said...

Everything with Chuck is a plan. Dang man has more plans than any human being I know. Just doesn’t know how to implement said plan. Can’t wait to see what idiot organization is bidding to run said west Jackson zoo. I may be that sanders guy that rambles on at council meetings.

Anonymous said...

Mayor get your Head out of your A __”
Be A Leader
Make Tough Decisions
The City is Bankrupt - BROKE -
Do U Care ?
Communism and Socialism Stereo Types
Don’t Care
What Say You Mayor ?
Quit Suckin Up To Every Faction
Be A Man
Set Your Ego Aside and Lead
Lead , Follow Those Who Care, Or
Resign and Get The Hell Out Of The
Way !

Anonymous said...

End the death spiral-
CLOSE.THE.ZOO.

Anonymous said...

the last time I heard this kinda PLATITUDINUS BULL SHIT was in the news conferences of the 60's and 70's------don't even know where to start!!

Anonymous said...

If and only if, the city is willing to tear down at least 2 to 3 blocks of building around the zoo - except, perhaps, the church, then people may return to visiting the zoo. I don't think this is racial -- black and whites are not eager to stop at stoplights in the vicinity of the zoo.
When we lost the elephants and put animals where no one can see them, people quit going. As the area filled with graffiti and abandoned buildings, people quit going. Nothing good has happened around the zoo in a very long time.

Anonymous said...

Why doesn’t the collective use the zoo for their cooperative community organizing? Throw some other buzz words in there for effect and roll with another city hall presser. Get some kind of grant they will never follow through with, plant a flag in the elephant pen and call it kushville or NU Afrika, or some other un-American name.

Anonymous said...

When is Shadrack going to investigate Beth Poff for taking the infrastructure money and paying her various and sundry bills? Did she pay the high priced lobbyist with the bond money?

Anonymous said...

Release the animals within confines of the zoo and open up high dollar hunts after a few months of random food drops to the animals and vegetation growth. Use the funds to hire more cops and pave roads. Dibs on the rhino hunt. No, I’m not referring to Tator.

Anonymous said...

How has the saving of Metro Center Mall worked out?

Anonymous said...

"Is there somebody else up there we can talk to?"

Kingfish said...

How do you know he is not investigating? The SA is like the FBI, he doesn't comment on investigations nor confirm or deny their existence.

Anonymous said...

Move the Zoo to Metrocenter. Renovate the mall to accommodate animal habitats and build outdoor habitats in the overly large parking lot. Use the mall building for offices, exhibits, indoor habitats, and a theater. It would still be in West Jackson and would be easily accessible from I-20, I-220, and Highway 80.

Anonymous said...

Save the zoo. Turn metrocenter into an aquarium. Build a 70,000 seat dome to attract a semi pro football team and monster trucks. A 20,000 seat arena for the Conference USA basketball tournament and acts like Saline Deon for the Eastover crowd and REO Speedwagon for the former dockrockers living in Rankin County. Jackson turns into a boomtown.

Anonymous said...

@8:36 - good idea. The parking lot is already a carnival ride.

Anonymous said...

The Jackson Zoo is dead! dead! dead! It just hasn’t been buried yet! Why is that so hard to understand? Obviously, it is just a smoke screen to cover other things!

Anonymous said...

At this point, I do NOT even know if moving the zoo will help, which means my hope for it has bottomed out because this was at least what I once firmly believed. Move the zoo to LeFluer's park area, nice central location, off the interstate, easily accessible, but that too will take MONEY. If they are not even able to make payroll, how likely is it the funds are there for a move. Sad COJ, love my city, but this is so sad and with the poor, camera/conference happy, inept leadership, it's not looking good.

Anonymous said...

How hard is it to see that nothing is going to survive in west Jxn. The city is putting up such a fight with not moving the zoo that it will cease to exist by this time next year. We see how well they were able to hang on to retail at the medical mall, metrocenter, and even the old McRae's on Meadowbrook. Vacant and deteriorating. There is no such thing as The Capital Street Corridor. City council meeting today, it was suggested that they get some of the $60 million allocated for Hwy 49 from Richland to the coast and use it to fix from the medical mall headed north. Where do these officials come up with these ideas? You're in government, you know good and well that things don't work like that. Maybe you shouldn't work in government because you just don't get it.

Anonymous said...

Kingfish sez: "How do you know he is not investigating? The SA is like the FBI, he doesn't comment on investigations nor confirm or deny their existence."

I reckon your right. The last one for eight or so years never commented before, during or after investigations so we were left to assume he was earning his pay. When there's nobody to hold you accountable.....

Garage doors.
Motor homes.
Bass Boat.
Golf cart.

Anonymous said...

I live in Jackson and from what I see if investors has not signed on yet I would do a city/state partnership to move the zoo that way the city will not be footing the entire bill. Given the fact a zoo is not design to bring in revenue itself but serves as an attraction to bring indirect revenue. The area the zoo is now can become a park, housing, community center, grocery store or something different but before money is invested plans should be in place to give the existing area a facelift and can start just by doing an area wide trash pick, fixing sidewalks,tearing down abandon structures, have city to start enforcing laws about junk in yards, and council member in that area bringing community together for neighborhood watch, and all sorts of things that does not require money.



Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.