by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 15th, 2008 11:19pm CDT | Comments Off
There are some things that transcend the day-to-day retail politics of Memphis and the personality-driven coverage of the news media. Surely 115,000 Memphis City Schools students are at the top of that list. There is no one who would disagree that there’s anything more important to Memphis than the futures of these students, and because [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 13th, 2008 10:02pm CDT | Comments Off
Consolidation is equal parts fact and fiction. Remarkably, more than 35 years of spasmodic attention has done little to illuminate consolidation. For that reason, our past week’s posts have been dedicated to the issue that confounds, confuses and confronts us. To wrap up the weeklong series, we offer a quiz to test your knowledge about [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 11th, 2008 9:42pm CDT | Comments Off
In this primary season, change seems to be the word voters most want to hear. Networking is the foundation of trust relationships that make change possible. Our guests this week are deeply engaged in understanding and building powerful networks for change. Abby Wilson and Sarah Szurpicki are the founders of GLUE, the Great Lakes Urban [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 11th, 2008 12:22am CDT | Comments Off
It is inevitable. It’s the “consolidation moment,” the time in every meeting where the future of Memphis is being discussed. It’s when someone holds up the merger of city and county governments as the answer to all that ails our city. Frequently mentioned in these merger moments is the poster child of all things virtuous [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 9th, 2008 6:52pm CDT | Comments Off
Finally, Shelby County has the chance to have a “strong mayor” form of government. Through sheer force of personality, county mayors have created the perception that they are equals to their Memphis counterparts. But, perched atop a government littered with the fiefdoms of assorted elected officials and powerful public boards, the truth is that the [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 8th, 2008 12:36am CDT | Comments Off
This is the latest in a series of posts this week on consolidation: Cities with consolidated governments are the exception, not the rule. Of the 3,141 counties and 20,000 municipalities in the U.S., a grand total of 35 are consolidated, or 1.1 percent of counties. Referenda on consolidation are anything but sure things. More than [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 6th, 2008 9:52pm CDT | Comments Off
Consolidation is once again a hot topic in Memphis and Shelby County following Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton’s latest call for merging city and county governments. No community in the U.S. has talked more about consolidation as ours – for 35 years no less – and no issue is clouded by as much misinformation and [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 6th, 2008 9:35pm CDT | Comments Off
Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton is right. The logic of consolidating Memphis and Shelby County Governments is painfully obvious. There is no city and county in the country where merging the governments makes as much sense. And yet, we likely can’t get there from here. It is also patently unfair that a majority of voters [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 5th, 2008 5:09pm CDT | Comments Off
Today, we drove down Winchester from FedEx World Headquarters to Lamar Avenue and drove by a former home in Hickory Hill. Later, we drove down Germantown Parkway from Germantown to Wolfchase. They were two depressing drives. With one, we passed empty big box buildings, more check cashing companies than restaurants, boarded up gas stations, deserted [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 5th, 2008 12:04am CDT | Comments Off
Memphis businesses have long complained to local government and the Chamber of Commerce that graduates of Memphis City Schools are unprepared to work for them. University of Memphis has long had special remedial classes for Memphis City Schools graduates. So what can we do with all of these poorly prepared graduates? Here’s an idea: Give [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | January 2nd, 2008 10:12pm CDT | Comments Off
One thing about our questions of the week. They always spark an interesting discussion, and we thank you for it. This time around, the question was: What should Memphis do to put The Pyramid to its best use? What objective should city government have in mind as it considers options for the arena? If the [...]
by Bill Day. Memphian Bill Day is two-time winner of the RFK Journalism Award in Cartooning. His cartoons are syndicated internationally by Cagle Cartoons. Cartoons Archive →
Photograph by Amie Vanderford
Memphian Amie Vanderford is a photographer for peace and justice. Her portfolio includes photographs from Peru, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Indian, and her hometown.
