You want your city government to do two things fairly well: Keep you safe and keep your infrastructure quasi-repaired. To be polite, let’s just say that Jackson has some, ahem, issues on both fronts. The infrastructure issue has gotten so bad (I’m surprised NASA doesn’t train Astronauts how to drive on the moon by cruising down State Street) that the city now has an asphalt vigilante running around filling potholes.
How far can we sink(hole)?
New Mayor Chokwe Lumumba vaguely addressed Jackson’s infrastructure Batman by saying, “We applaud anyone who commits to making reasonable improvements within their communities, but we do not accept any use of the city’s resources without going through the proper legal channels.”
Um, OK.
Let me repeat where the Mayor hit the curb: “ we do not accept any use of the city’s resources without going through the proper legal channels.”
If I were mayor (and I’d rather have my fingernails pulled off one by one than be mayor), I would have called a press conference, given Pothole Man a key to the city (hopefully the lock hasn’t rusted shut) and said, “Great job — now we’ll take over from here.” And then I would have politely reminded him after the TV cameras had left that the city does not, “accept any use of the city’s resources without going through the proper legal channels.”
Of course, I guess the Jackson Police Department could arrest Jackson’s Charles “Death Wish” Bronson of potholes. Or just punish him by making him drive his car down his street. The cost of a front-end alignment is punishment enough.
What’s really funny is that the asphalt belongs to MDOT, not the City of Jackson!
I agree, give Ron Chane the keys to the city! Too bad he didn’t make it over to West Street. I think my fillings rattle out of my head every day when I drive on it. Maybe we should do a survey of dentists — do Jacksonians have their fillings replaces more than people who live in cities with decent streets??