Ellington

Starkville, Tupelo, Oxford, Hattiesburg and, most recently, Ridgeland have done it. They've all passed smoke-free workplace laws that include restaurants and bars, and have thus taken a stand for the health of their communities. My question is: When will Jackson strengthen its smoke-free ordinance to be in line with other cities?

Across the country, going smoke-free is considered progressive, and more than 2,500 municipalities and 22 states have some form of smoke-free law on the books.

I have watched many of my parishioners suffer from the devastating health effects of secondhand smoke, and a mountain of evidence proves that secondhand smoke is dangerous. The U.S. Surgeon General said just last year said there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Additionally, he said that comprehensive smoke-free laws offer the strongest protection for the most people from secondhand smoke.

As our state's capital city, Jackson should be leading the way when it comes to smoke-free ordinances. The time for a stronger smoke-free law is now.
— Rev. Joe May, Jackson

Where There Is No Vision, The People Perish
In response to your editorial, "Melton Mismanagement Hits The 'Bottom Line'" (June 7), the fact of the matter is this: By the time a city gets into a position like Jackson's, it's already too late to be overly diplomatic.

On the whole, the citizens of Jackson should have demanded a lot more a lot earlier, mainly from themselves. Sure, Jackson has managed thus far to keep itself from dying, but if it does flatline, it may be impossible to revive, even with Melton's minions pounding on its chest, grabbing whatever they can before that last gasp. Then they'll conveniently disappear, leaving someone else to dispose of the body. One can only wonder how long Jackson has been lying on the gurney, struggling to survive.

But how much can you really blame Frank Meltdown? Is an individual really responsible for the mess, or is it a lot of individuals, including the citizenry?

Whatever you can say about the mayor, you can also point to wider deficiencies of foresight, engagement and most important of all, moral force—all traditions afflicting not only

the city but the state. Why else does it consistently stay at the top of the bottom of the heap?

Let's not be entirely unfair about this. Whatever else he is, Melton is also a footnote, in part the product of a system that let him take power and that tolerates him still.

Is it too late? Will the current mayor be the one presiding over Jackson's dying throes? Or will Jackson rise, take control of its destiny and save itself?
— Dennis Chesler, Canton