Jackson Jambalaya

PLEASE HAVE MERCY on these poor animals--close this abomination BEFORE they wrangle an accreditation and manage to limp along as another crippled example of what it means to be broke!!

So the release says that even it gets the $1.4 million of city money Chokwe has promised it, the Zoo will nevertheless need more donations and even them must "right-size" its operations.

sell the animals and end their misery.

I prefer the animal life along Bailey Avenue.

This is so sad.
Just as a state needs a symphony,a ballet and museums, it also needs a zoo.
If you want to attract businesses, you have to appear to be interested in being cultured and interested in the educational value these things provide to our children.
As a state, and make no mistake, the absence of availability to such things matter, everyone in every town will suffer if we allow these sorts of cultural outlets to go unfunded and untended and be lost to us.
We have lost business because we don't have amenities that business has come to expect. We have lost business because we air our dirty laundry rather than work together to get it washed. We let the naysayers,defeatists and grumps among us define us to others.
It's one thing to identify a problem and start to talk about resolving it. It's another thing to just dog cuss everyone and everything.
Your Momma told you not to air your family's dirty linen in public for good reason. It applies to our state as well if we hope to attract others. You don't " marry" into a family with such discord and that lets their " house" go to ruin while they squabble over who ought to have been fixing it if you have any sense at all.

Just as a state needs a symphony,a ballet and museums, it also needs a zoo.

Get a freaking clue. The "state" ain't paying for diddly when it comes to the Jackson Zoo. Jackson is flat broke and can't be expected to do the heavy $$$ lifting on behalf of all the zoo and "culture" pollyannas in the rest of Mississippi.

8:24 a.m., you have stated this eloquently, and I agree wholeheartedly. The only quibble I have is with your metaphor of "Mama told you not to air dirty linen in public." While true, most of our mamas grew up in the era before social media, or sites like this one that allow/encourage people to spew and fume before they take time to measure their thoughts, and do some thoughtful, rational editing.

You won't find that toothpaste going back into the tube any time soon---ever---because it's hard to resist firing off a blast, especially when veiled in the cloak of blessed ANONYMITY. The squallers and screamers are legion, and they'll be right here on this site as long as they are allowed to be.

But, if I were the owner/CEO of a business looking to have a Jackson presence, you bet your butt I'd want ALL the "dirty laundry" right there in its soiled horror, before I sunk a dime into what may, truly, be a failing city.

I'm as sad about the zoo's probable fate as anyone else, and I have visited it fairly often, even as an adult whose children were long flown. A couple of years ago, I went to say goodbye to Rosie and Juno, the elephants, and the "melancholy,long, withdrawing roar" I felt in my heart brought tears.

Yes, an era seems to be ending. But it wo't be the first era that's ended...it's just another chapter.

Answer: surely wish I had one.

To 8:24AM, you indeed "get it."

Some people's anger and hatred of Jackson has gone so far over the top that they can't see how losing institutions such as the zoo look to external parties. I'm sure the same people who want the zoo to go away also are still pissed off at the new Art Museum (what a waste of money, you want to see art, go to New York), and are desparately trying to ensure that Thalia Mara doesn't make its improvements (again, what a waste - we don't need no high-falutin sym-phoney or bal-lay).

The future of this country is high technology, but what hi-tech firm would consider this state when they know they would not be able to convince employees to move here?

So I should not have posted the fact they were not submitting the financial statements or what the auditor said?

hmmmmmm.......

KF, no one is saying u shouldn't expose what they're doing. Although a threaded forum would help us understand who we're replying to...

The problem is the "tone" of the people that comment - the "I hate Jackson and I'm glad to see it suffer" folks. The "Jackson is too Black so I hope it fails" crowd.

When the zoo is gone, and the opera is gone, and the ballet is gone, and the symphony is gone, and Thalia Mara is gone, and the coliseum collapses, what then? When the only thing Central MS (not just Jackson) has to offer is hospitals, colleges, and car dealers, what then?

It would be nice to see and hear from people that are invested in central MS.

Unlike the zoo the other things you mentioned are not in horrible locations. I regularly take out of towners to the art museum and performances at Thalia Mara. I've never had to deal with hordes of unrestrained children or their thug parents at any of those other attractions either.

When the zoo is gone, and the opera is gone, and the ballet is gone, and the symphony is gone, and Thalia Mara is gone, and the coliseum collapses, what then? When the only thing Central MS (not just Jackson) has to offer is hospitals, colleges, and car dealers, what then?

Don't forget payday loan/check cashing businesses,fast food restaurants, and dollar stores. And the beautiful, empty expanse of the Farish Street District.

The thing is: I am not happy that this is Jackson's fate, but by electing people like the Stokeses and Chockwe, the people of Jackson have CHOSEN this fate.

You won't find that toothpaste going back into the tube any time soon---ever---because it's hard to resist firing off a blast, especially when veiled in the cloak of blessed ANONYMITY.

Sorry sweetheart, er, "ophelia". You're no less anonymous here than PittWhiner or anyone else. You could lead but instead follow posting without identification like anyone else.

Hmmmmmm. The plot thickens. Anybody see the Jackson Zoo on this list? Considering all that which has been divulged here at Jackson Jambalaya the absence could very well be more than a simple omission.

to 12:03PM, I'm pretty sure that most people on this board felt that downtown Jackson (where Thalia Mara is loacted) was indeed a "horible location" when the government was considering consolidating office space there. No end of posters said they should not move downtown due to the "crime."

So now downtown Jackson is A-OK?

And my point was never about the location of those institutions, it's about the fact that they all require money to run them. And if something requires money, then that means we all have to have a vested interest in having said institution, otherwise we will latch onto any excuse to allow it to fail.

A zoo needs money to run, and unfortunately zoos are not as attractive for giving as symphonies and operas - there's no "Zoo League" analagous the the Symphony League, throwing fundraising balls. Without consistent private funding, it falls to the gov. If we think we can make a play like "no gov funding as long as the zoo is in West Jackson, but if it moves, then we will fund it," that dog just isn't gonna hunt. And the $200M that it would take to build a new zoo from scratch, not even half of that is needed to make the current zoo work well.

Lots of happy talk from Panther but never a mention about where the money tree can be found. BTW Panther, Jackson Zoo has a foundation for fundraising.

10:29 am I understand your point.

However, every city, like every family has " dirty laundry" so to speak. It's how one handles it.

I've lived in 5 cities over my lifetime , all of which have faced similar problems...aging infrastructure, financial problems from losing the residential tax base to the suburbs, and decaying areas of poverty and crime. All are Southern cities as well. And, they were facing these problems much earlier than Jackson.

All five of these cities,have turned it around.

The difference is while these problems were always acknowledged, the attitude was that " we will find a solution". No one ever said they thought their city was doomed. No one ever said their city wasn't worth saving. No one ever ignored the strengths but rather defended the city with those strengths. The entire state was willing to help see those cities succeed.
And, these cities had good leadership ...black and white. Those who would foster hatred didn't win. MS gets Idi Amin instead of Nelson Mandela or Hitler instead of Churchill.
I get the distinct impression that the failure of Jackson will help those who are racist justify their racist beliefs and that those in other cities add fuel in hopes of enhancing their communities. It comes across as " see, we told you those folks were too dumb and of such a low nature to run a city. We're better".
Only to a CEO from outside, they don't look better. They look ornery and mean spirited or duplicitous. They look like people who " cut off their nose to spite their face".
The " us /them" mentality is pervasive . It is not limited to blacks vs whites, but invades the social structure of both. It's MS vs the rest of the country as well. The lack of a positive attitude where good people work together happens but it is drowned out by shouting naysayers, rather than supported when it does.
It's as if no one gets past high school but is forever choosing a clique and dogging the other cliques.
We should all want to have a zoo that we can show with pride. We should be so proud of being one of four cities in the world hosting the IBC that fixing Thalia Mara would be our priority. We should want our children , ALL our children, to have the best of everything and be able to put our differences aside to make that happen. And , it's THAT attitude in a city a smart CEO will find attractive...a CAN DO attitude.

YAWN ... ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz ... SSnnnoooorrrrreeeeeeeeee

Those industrial site locator advance-teams musta been doing a swell job for many years since ain't a damned one of 'em chose Jacktown to place a sizeable business that might employ hundreds of Jacktownians.

If they're scoutin' around the South for a town that's got culture, then they've not even downgeared the tour bus when passin' through.