Jackson Free Press

Convention Center Referendum Passes!!! For those of you who may not have seen it on the news or in the paper, Jacksonians overwhelmingly passed the Convention Center Referendum this past Tuesday allowing Jackson to issue bonds to construct a $61 million dollar Capital City Convention Center! Jackson will now be able to join the ranks of nearly ever other state capital in the United States as having a center that can host large conventions, concerts and other large meetings.

The center is expected to have a $40 million economic impact on the state's economy and will create 700 new permanent jobs in Jackson.

The referendum that passed enacts a 1 percent hospitality tax increase on restaurants in the city, a 3 percent hospitality tax increase on hotels and a 3 percent tax on catering inside the Convention Center. The tax will repeal after the Convention Center bonds are repaid.

Mayor Johnson, officials from Entergy, the Jackson/Hinds Library System and others came together this past Monday to break ground for the North Jackson Library off of Old Canton Road. The North Jackson Library will be the first library built in Jackson in over twenty five years! The North Jackson Library will more than double the existing space of the Old Canton Library Branch, bringing the total area to 12,000 square feet. None of this could have been possible without the generosity of Entergy in donating the land on which to build the library.

We're not stopping with North Jackson though. Soon the city will begin construction of a new Westside Library on Wiggins Road and renovations to the Eudora Welty Library are nearing completion.

Jackson Named One Of The Top 10 Cities To Retire Affordably
The MetLife Mature Market Institute just named Jackson as the 5th least expensive U.S. city for long term care services at an average daily cost for nursing home care of $124.01. The top ten ratings were reported in the November 2004 edition of Military Officer magazine. You can see the article online by clicking on http://www.moaa.org/magazine/currentedition/news_notes.asp

You can also see MetLife Mature Market Institute's full report online by clicking on:

http://www.metlife.com/WPSAssets/11704283601096047636V1F2004%20NH%20and%20HC%20Market%20Survey.pdf

New Orleans Saints Running Back Deuce McAllister Takes A Pride Ride
Jackson residents were not only impressed by recent and ongoing developments all over the city of Jackson this past weekend, some of them were busy trying to get an autograph from an NFL player. New Orleans Saints Running Back and Mississippi native, Deuce McAllister, got on the Greyhound bus leaving from Metrocenter Mall as Mayor Johnson served as a personal tour guide for him and Jackson residents on the Mayor's monthly Pride Ride.

The next Pride Ride is Saturday, November 13, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. The tour departs at the Woodville Heights Elementary School (2930 McDowell Road). Free lunch is provided.

To reserve your spot this month or future months, call the Mayor's Office of Constituent Services at 960-1084. Seating is limited.

Mayor Johnson Appointed To National Task Force
The United States Conference of Mayors has appointed Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. Vice Chair of a new Communications Task Force.

The task force is being established to examine the many communications policy issues that impact America's cities and to help prepare for an anticipated reauthorization of the Telecommunications Act that will begin next year in the 109th Congress.

"It's very important that issues which have impact on our cities are examined, and I'm pleased to have been chosen to serve on this task force for such an important effort," said Mayor Johnson. "I also think we'll have some initial recommendations within the next few months."

The President of the United States Conference of Mayors, Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic, made the announcement at a recent leadership meeting.