Fight brewing over Jackson airport

Despite its miniature size, the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Mississippi. It’s metro area has a population of about 500,000. It’s been an untapped resource. In early February, state Sen. Josh Harkins (R-Flowood) indicated plans to file a modified bill to change who sits on the airport board; and replacing the 5-member Jackson Municipal Airport Authority with a 7-person board—(two each from Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties) - appointed by the governor. Now, there’s a fight brewing as to who gets to do the tapping. The City of Jackson, which controls the 3,381 acres that the airport sits on is bracing for a battle for governance and control against the state. Are there racist tones to this battle? The Business Ministerial Alliance of Mississippi spoke out against the "hostile takeover" of the airport. On Jan. 15, alliance chairman Dwayne Pickett, pastor of New Jerusalem Church, argued that changing the governance of the airport would spur a major outcry from the city and its citizens. (Source: Jackson Free Press 02/03/16)