Mayor Yarber unveils vision for Jackson (Ridgeland, Madison: 2013, crime, hotel)

[golden eagles fan]

Yesterday at the Alamo Theater, Mayor Tony Yarber unveiled a vision for the city, one that is woven together by five themes: Vibrant, Connected, Prosperous, Innovative and Committed. You can read it for yourself:

City of Jackson, MS - Official Website

Yes, it was short on specifics and how they would be achieved, but it's great that there is some kind of vision. Maybe it sounds pie-in-the-skyish, but sometimes, you have to think big. I don't expect all these things to come full circle under Yarber, I believe he's about to lay down a great foundation for his successors to build upon.

[Popquez87]

Thank you for sharing this. I'm happy the mayor at least has a vision, and he is sharing it with us. Yes, it was short on details but I don't remember Johnson, Melton or Lumumba(sp?) ever sharing such a vision with the city. I would definitely love to see the medical corridor come to fruition during my lifetime. I also liked that he mentioned public transit as that is an area Jackson can grow a lot. I hope he'll have more town hall meetings to give us more details on how this vision will come to fruition.

[zblanton1]

Sounds great! And like you said Popquez, I don't remember any Mayor in recent memory of Jackson outlining their plan for a successful Jackson. But then again, Yarber has done a lot of things that other Mayors didn't do & wouldn't have done.

[madison2013]

Originally Posted by golden eagles fan

Yesterday at the Alamo Theater, Mayor Tony Yarber unveiled a vision for the city, one that is woven together by five themes: Vibrant, Connected, Prosperous, Innovative and Committed. You can read it for yourself:

City of Jackson, MS - Official Website

Yes, it was short on specifics and how they would be achieved, but it's great that there is some kind of vision. Maybe it sounds pie-in-the-skyish, but sometimes, you have to think big. I don't expect all these things to come full circle under Yarber, I believe he's about to lay down a great foundation for his successors to build upon.

Sad when five buzzwords are considered a vision

[zblanton1]

Originally Posted by madison2013

Sad when five buzzwords are considered a vision

You still won't deny though that no other Mayor has done something like this before. Yarber cares about Jackson a lot more than his predecessors.

[madison2013]

Originally Posted by zblanton1

You still won't deny though that no other Mayor has done something like this before. Yarber cares about Jackson a lot more than his predecessors.

No other mayor has given Jackson residents 5 buzzwords as a vision? That's nothing to brag about.

[golden eagles fan]

Originally Posted by madison2013

No other mayor has given Jackson residents 5 buzzwords as a vision? That's nothing to brag about.

Gotta start somewhere.

[zblanton1]

GEF is right, you gotta start somewhere and Mayor Yarber is doing just that! Starting where Lumumba didn't, starting where Johnson didn't, and starting where Melton didn't!

Johnson denied Jackson had a crime problem! He's the reason we don't have the Braves baseball stadium downtown!! Melton was a dictator, tearing down homes left and right and almost had the historic King Edward Hotel torn down too! And Lumumba ... Well he would've brought upon the death of Jackson I'm afraid and now there's talks of renaming Battlefield Park after him? HA! The guy did nothing and he would've been a CANCER for the city. Again, I hate to say it but his passing was a blessing in disguise.

It was a blessing because we got someone like Yarber. Someone who is more hands on than ever, someone who is willing to working with their city more than ever, someone who's administration is more positive than ever. Yarber is the right direction for the city of Jackson, and whether you see or not, I'm sorry he's not Mary Hawkins-Butler. I'm sorry he isn't a racist, backwards, prejudice woman that despite growing her town has done it under the guise of lies & racism. I think the city & suburbs alike should support each other on everything, but instead when good news comes out of the capitol city, you have people like yourself Madison that wanna put down Jackson in a pit of nothingness, because it doesn't compare to the city of Madison. But even so, people living in the suburbs should be supportive of the going ons in the capitol city, not negative about it. Every little shred of good news that comes out of Jackson, it seems like people in Madison would still rather build a wall dividing it from the rest of the metro! People may still be leaving Jackson, but people are also leaving the suburbs to come live in Jackson. And that's fine! Why can't they have that ability to do so? Yarber is good for the city of Jackson, and again I'm sorry he isn't Mary Hawkins-Butler. Not.

[bhamoutlook]

About 10 years ago, when I was very young and first entering the corporate world, my boss would require me to write action plans. They would be plans for my month, quarter, or even the year. I had no clue what I was doing and didn't have any specific plans. How could I? I was so young and inexperienced. My plans sounded a lot like this. Not a lot of substance. That's okay though. As you guys have previously stated, this is more than other mayors have done. Even if he doesn't have a fully comprehensive plan for what he's going to do, he's on the right track and hopefully putting Jackson on the right track. Those plans that I used to make may not have been much but they did a lot for me. They at least got me on a plan and I was guided by something. (However loosely that may be.) This does much more than griping and spreading negativity. THAT'S DOING NOTHING!

[golden eagles fan]

I didn't really want to turn this into a Jackson vs. suburbs battle, but I'll go ahead and say my piece on it. I'm not really a fan of suburbs, but I don't hate them. I do understand why people live there. What I don't like, however, is when suburbanites want to tear down Jackson. They complain about the bad things (crime, infrastructure, etc.) and speak negatively when good things happen (convention center opening, District at Eastover). In other words, damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'd rather for Jackson to be fighting against the Baton Rouges, Little Rocks and Birminghams of the world (no offense to bhamoutlook). Of course, not all suburbanites feel this way. They understand when Jackson does better, they'll do better.

I believe some suburbanites are afraid of a Jackson rebound. Though the District at Eastover will not turn around the city by itself, the fact is that it will offer Jacksonians better dining and retail options, along with a movie theater--something that we had to leave the city borders to do. Of course, let's be real: even after the D@E is a full operation, it won't stop the mass flood of dollars leaving the city. However, it will be able to recapture some of those lost dollars. It's also going to help increase a momentum that I feel is about to start rolling. The dollars Jackson will recapture will help with our infrastructure needs and bring in more police officers & better tools to help the officers fight crime. Jackson has fed Ridgeland and Flowood's economy for quite some time, leaving our streets starving for repaving.