Mississippi- from www.clarionledger.com – A Jackson attorney representing Danny’s Cabaret said today he has contacted the city in an effort to put to rest the controversy over the strip club’s suggestive billboards.

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. sent a letter to the family that manages the club on West Street expressing his “great concern” over the billboards on I-55 and I-220. The billboards feature a bikini-clad model clutching a stripper pole with the slogan “Strippers love to climb our pole.”

Attorney Chris Ganner said the club is seeking “common ground” on the issue and has left a message for the mayor at City Hall.

“We are going to try to work out some agreement with the city that addresses Mayor Johnson’s concerns and allows for commercial free speech,” he said.

Ganner said “more than likely” that agreement will result in altering the signs.

Ganner said he also is researching the confusing management situation at the club.

Johnson originally sent the letter addressed to the owner of Babe’s, a strip club at the same intersection as Danny’s. Club employees refused to reveal who owns the clubs, but a series of land and court records point to the family of former Memphis strip club kingpin Danny Owens.

Owens is serving a 27-year federal prison sentence for using his Memphis clubs as fronts for prostitution, money laundering and illegal gambling. A lawsuit filed in August by a former Danny’s employee names Owens’ sons — Daniel “Dax” Owens and Blake Owens — as owners of the club.

Lila Davis, who is listed as vice president of the club in its incorporation papers, said Blake Owens makes the day-to-day decisions at the club. Blake Owens is on probation for his own federal criminal conviction on kidnapping and conspiracy charges.

Ganner said Dax Owens is the day-to-day manager of the club. “He’s looking forward to working with the city,” he said.
Davis said she was unaware of the billboards. After having them described to her, she called the ads “gross” and said she did not want trouble with the city.