Jackson Jambalaya

Met him once and he seemed like a great guy who wanted to see great things for the airport. Came from AZ I believe. Was qualified and a minority. Guess he couldn't deal with the Board pimps any longer. Take over can't happen fast enough!

Bring back Southwest. Word on the street was that Jacktoen was trying to jack them? Can you shed some light KF?

Well, at least we know racism wasn't involved. Not a single white person listed under Board of Commissioners or Officers and Directors on the airport website jmaa.com

I see that the need for diversity only applies when whites are running the show.

So what's the reason?

Soon Jackson Mississippi will no longer be competing with other US cities for the bottom of statistics.

We will instead be competing with the worst third world nations for the bottom.

I'm sure Medgar Evers would frown on having his name associated with these shenanigans.

They still have not completed construction on that runway project. Still operating with just one runway.

Wow. He was at Jackson Rotary yesterday....

Racism is the reason he was there...championed by the Lumumba junta.

It is? Maybe you're the racist.

Came from Arizona to Jackson? I don't blame him for leaving. I'm guessing he got tired of dealing with the loony toons that run the circus around here. He had probably never seen a more dysfunctional enterprise until he visited the South.

Carl Newman was a very bright light shining amongst a gaggle of very dim bulbs.

@Kingfish

There is zero diversity in the leadership. It is right there on the website.

That would be a serious issue in any other publicly funded enterprise. Why not JMAA?

Wow, everything I read about him made me feel he was highly qualified for the job and Jackson was lucky to have him. Anyone who has been to the airport in the last 5 years could see things improving slightly. Jackson is too small to have an overnight surge in traffic and new airlines (Southwest ain't coming back ever guys) but improvements were made to clean up the signage, improve concession/store options, 2 new airlines brought in, and improvements to parking payment. While these changes are mostly small it is great improvement in a short time with a small budget. If the board really did something to cause him to quit I might finally be convinced a takeover is necessary.

the reason he was there was he was good at his job. and sounds like the board has run him off. idiots

The board just ran off one of the most well respected airport managers in the country. The guy was president of AAAE (look it up). Come on Jackson....you are making it too easy for the governor's mansion.

If Jackson doesn't want a state takeover of the airport, the #1 thing the board should do is appoint great leadership. Somehow, they got it right with Newman. No qualified person in their right mind would step in the middle of this mess at this point. They should have locked Newman down with a loooong term contract. He was very good at what he did and brought respect and sensibility to the airport. Phil and Tate must be licking their chops.

JMAA is doubling down on giving the state the finger. Bad move Jackson

How can you support Jackson keeping the airport when they run off one of the best CEO's in the business?

Just when the takeover had quieted down. Great timing for the airport. Not too late for the legislature to declare an emergency since they are still in session. Go ahead and get it over with. FAA would likely have never sided with the state....until now.

3:40 is exactly right. Many blacks read this site. Please answer. Is it fair that NO other races are on the board than blacks. If so why, and find ANY public board in Jackson today that is all white.

Henley served on the Jackson YMCA board so he must know something about airports. Martin doesn't even list any experience or background. Harris is a nurse. There is your 3 vote majority.

JMAA.com

3:40 keep up. Yes the board is all AA, but so is the entire staff. All AA. Imagine if it were all white.

I don't care about the racial breakdown of the board. The airport is owned by a city that is 85% black so what do you expect? I do care that Newman is leaving because he was first class and highly respected by the FAA and our congressional leadership. He was a voice of reason, a strong leader and had a super resume. Jackson's list of problems just got worse.

Southwest is not coming back. They are adding service to the Caribbean. More profitable. So, why put up with the headaches of JAN?

Now does everyone see why they try to remove the Airport from control of Benny and The Rest. They will not be happy until they run it into the ground. I laughed when I heard Madison wanted to do an Airport but now I see these people have vision. Benny and the boys want to race bait etc and Hold everyone back

I didn’t know Mr Newman but he came here from Houston Intercontinental where he was head man after being assistant in Phoenix. I travel a lot and always check luggage and it comes out a lot faster now. It’s quick paying for parking, the airport and garage look better and we have two carriers that’ll take me near Orlando in direct flights. A white company keeps failing a paving job so half the runways are out of service. I don’t like the lack of airline, aircraft or airport knowledge of the board. I no longer live in Hinds County, the airport is in Rankin and soon Mr Newman will be back in a normal place with a normal job.

@5:54 PM
Doesn't matter if the city is 85% Black. If the races were reversed and the city was 85% white then blacks would still demand a seat at the table. Maybe white passengers should take their airfare business to an airport with more competent administration.

Maybe it is time for a new Airport not connected to the City of Jackson.

5:54 good for you. I DO care about the racial makeup of the board, because as a white MAN I have been eating that shit for 30 years.

It is a shame that anything that Jackson touches is poisoned. I hope the State takes the airport over. It is obvious Jackson can’t run it.

Just in case y’all forgot. This is about reparations, Jim Crow and lest we forget, slavery. I didn’t sayit. The good folks over at JFP did.

http://m.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2016/mar/30/dems-promise-retribution-evoke-slavery-hijacked-ai/

I hope somebody’s keeping a running count on this reparations tab. I want the airport deducted from my total.

I've flown out of Gulfport/Biloxi Airport numerous times and it is a dream compared to Jackson. I've flown out of Mobile and Meridian and had a better experience at both airports. Something about Jackson leadership is always doomed to failure. Must be something in the water.

The last thing Jackson needs to do is to make anything about race. Hire the most qualified people and expect them to do the best job they can do. Jackson is in severe crisis mode and every Mississippian within 50 miles should be doing everything possible to save it. If it gets any worse the whole area is doomed.

There are clearly two groups posting on this message. The first group flies frequently and while concerned about the board competency, they recognize that Newman has been a great CEO and the airport is not terrible. We recognize the loss of Newman as a "big deal". The other group just wants to rip the everything related to Jackson and say the airport is doomed to failure and it is worse than Meridian or Mobile; this group is composed of people who fly once every five years or the same old Rankin 70 year olds who long for Ross Barnett to come back to life and post about it on JJ 24/7.

Yes I am concerned this could turn into a disaster for the airport. But prior to today, Jackson's airport was far from the disaster some of you make it out to be. They do a good job and they are far better than airports in comparably sized cities.....for now.

Delta Diamond Member

Interesting comments on another article from Baker and tea party types crowing about sovereignty and the need for a constitutional convention. Just Google Mark Baker and the term "sovereignty". And then when you see him, ask how sovereignty applies to Jackson and the airport that Jackson paid for.

Meridian has one airline. It is fine if you like American and fly thru Dallas or Chicago and can plan your schedule around one flight per day. To pay for parking you just drop a $1 bill in a box. When it is time to board, the people who were cleaning the bathrooms and mowing the grass emerge from behind a door with TSA uniforms on and they get you right through. Everything is a breeze unless its raining because you have to walk several hundred feet and then climb rickety stairs to get in the plane.

To compare it to Jackson is ludicrous. One airline with two flights daily? I thought our biggest complaint was lack of options.

But MEI does have free donuts and coffee.

The CoJ did not and does not pay for the airport.

@9:02 PM if you you should Google "Jackson Medgar Wiles Evers Airport Federal Grants" and you will see that the Federal Government has paid for just about every change you've seen at the airport for the last 20 years. So your argument is potato.

@Delta Diamond Member
I've got a few frequent flyer accounts, but no loyalty to a specific airline except ANA. I have 2 passports full of visa stamps and a third that will be full before it expires in 2022. I have flown out of and through a considerable number of airports around the globe. I know airports.

Shown me one thing that any current City Leadership in Jackson has touched that has prospered instead of crashed and burned. Do that and I will take back what I said about there must be something in the water

LaWanda D Harris
Lee A Bernard Jr
Rev James L Henley, Jr
LTC(R) Lucius Wright
Robert E Martin

These are the people who caused Newman to leave plain and simple. They collectively know nothing about running an airport and thought they should be involved in the day to day operations. Newman said enough is enough and quit. These people's legacy will be making sure that the state takes over the airport. Yall royally screwed this up.

Jackson airport was doing well and I have no complaints....but I too am very concerned that we lost such a competent leader. They really could screw this up.

Jackson built it and owns it. Period.

But when you visit the Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, you are invited to enjoy the new shoe shine stands by one of the commissioners. Why would anyone find that objectionable?

All Rankin County has to is us wait for the incompetent leadership in Jackson to drive the city into bankruptcy. Then City of Pearl can buy the airport for less than Brandon spent on the Amphitheater that is replacing that ridiculous Coliseum and Thalia Mara Hall. I hope that they rename it the Jerry Clower International Airport.

11:43, while you cheer and hope for that to happen, remember that if Jackson goes down in flames there will be a hundred thousand or so folks looking to move. They can’t afford Madison, so get ready for an influx in Pearl, Brandon, et al. Or, you might want to quit pulling against them.

Damn. Did a bomb go off at the airport? What the hell? I've been living in this city for almost 20 years and have flown in and out of the airport more than 20 times in that span and I don't understand how so many people see absolute disaster every time they hear the name Jackson. For a city this size the airport is not bad. And it's not badly run either. A good employee moved on. Happens all the time. Hire another one. If they hire somebody really bad, then maybe that's the time to start bitchin. Give the Jackson hate speech a rest!

@2:48 PM
Anyone with the sense and the means to leave Jackson have by now. For the rest, there simply is not enough Section 8 housing to accommodate that many people. And they can't afford to buy a house in Rankin County on benefits. So your scenario won't happen.

That's why you got to get out as fast as you can. Find a sucker to unload your rapidly declining property.

4:48 you should go into comedy. Rankin County, Pearl and Brandon particularly, are covered with apartments built 20 years ago. The folks who will be moving into them are the same folks that sucked the teet dry in Jackson. At least you can get out before the fall. Move out to Pisgah or Morton.

To 7:26, there is something in the water: lead. At least that's what the notices said that I used to get all the time when I lived there. (I'm pretty sure there's something in the crack, too)