Archive for February, 2008
February 29th, 2008 12:00pm UTC
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This week’s Smart City is an encore presentation of a show that first aired June 29, 2006. How can the design of physical space and public policy encourage creativity and high performance? We put that question to our guests Clive Wilkinson and Steven J. Tepper. Clive is principal with Clive Wilkinson Architects based in Los [...]
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February 28th, 2008 7:55pm UTC
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It’s always easy in Memphis to know that four years have passed. Willie W. Herenton takes another oath of office as mayor and announces that consolidation is a top priority. Five oaths of office later and in spite of his periodic attention, Memphis City Government is no closer to merging with Shelby County Government than [...]
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February 27th, 2008 12:31am UTC
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Charter schools just got a late Valentine from state government. It came in the form of an encouraging 40-page report by the highly respected Comptroller of the Treasury John Morgan. The report called for loosening state restrictions that limit charter schools and for sharing charter school innovations so regular public schools “learn from charter schools’ [...]
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February 26th, 2008 12:55am UTC
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Obviously, we think blogs are important. We wouldn’t devote this much time and energy to our little corner of the digital world if we thought otherwise. Blogs increase understanding, encourage conversation and contribute to the democratic principles. Most of all, as news organizations have cut back on their reporting staffs and have come to avoid [...]
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February 24th, 2008 8:48pm UTC
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Even a novice to the ways of government could interpret the signs, so they are painfully obvious to someone with the level of experience possessed by Greg Ericson. He’s getting the runaround. Even to people just casually acquainted with city government’s obsession with a Bass Pro Shop store inside The Pyramid, City Hall’s recent “Analysis [...]
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February 23rd, 2008 8:06pm UTC
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In answer to a question by Bob, we’ve re-read the contract between Memphis and Shelby County Governments, and here’s the short answer: The contract with the Memphis Grizzlies is not an impediment to development of The Pyramid. While the “Use and Operating Agreement” between the team owners and city and county governments gives the NBA [...]
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February 22nd, 2008 6:42pm UTC
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The redevelopment of riverfronts has been one of the drivers of urban revitalization in many U.S. cities. This week’s guests are working to bring new life to two of those riverfronts. Benny Lendermon is leading the effort to bring Memphians to the Mississippi River. Benny is president of the Memphis Riverfront Development Corporation, a public-private [...]
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February 21st, 2008 11:45pm UTC
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Maybe we were out of town and missed the press conference. Surely, there was one called by religious leaders to condemn the grotesque anti-Semitism in the flyer attacking U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen by a doctrine-starved Middle Tennessee preacher. Surely, our religious leaders – the majority of whom are either Jewish or worship a Jew – [...]
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February 20th, 2008 6:24pm UTC
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So, after four years of supposed serious interest in opening a megastore in The Pyramid, Bass Pro Shop discovers that Memphis sits on a fault zone. Due diligence sure must mean something different in Springfield, Missouri. That said, it was curious to us that using this sudden seismic concern as justification for why Bass Pro [...]
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February 19th, 2008 9:21pm UTC
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A key to living and working downtown is a sense of proportion. We’ve been clear that we have a no tolerance attitude toward panhandlers. We are flexible about the homeless. That’s why we had no problems with the man earlier this year who slept on the sidewalk in front of our place. He cleaned up [...]
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Memphis Wire
- Innovation Dublin 9.1.10 9:48pmFrom November 10-21, the city of Dublin will host the second Innovation Dublin festival where venues throughout the city region will open their doors to showcase and promote all facets of innovation in the city. The festival provides Dubliners, entrepreneurs, students, researchers, artists and large corporations with an opportunity to discuss, promote and ce...
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- Using Technology to Inspire Community to Action 8.24.10 9:09pmThese days, as people use Facebook to support Haiti, end hunger, and stand behind other causes, social networks have become the place to make a statement. Yet those clicks don’t necessarily turn into a movement to better communities. At least not yet. With the Knight Foundation’s focus on fostering informed and engaged communities, they started looking at wa...
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- A Greener Welcome in Indianapolis 8.18.10 6:32pmBy the time the sun sets on October 7, Indianapolis will have ten acres of new natural area. Even more amazing: it will happen in just eight hours. More than 9,000 Eli Lilly and Company volunteers will plant 72,000 native shrubs and perennials, and another 1,600 trees along a path traversed by 100,000 vehicles a day.The project, A Greener Welcome, will natur...
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- A High Line for Harlem 8.3.10 9:48pmAn innovative urban development project, spearheaded by the Harlem Community Development Corporation, could bring new energy and excitement to Harlem. Tentatively called La Marqueta Mile, the proposed mile-long, open air market under the Metro North tracks would span 22 blocks and house as many as 900 vendors, providing enormous opportunity to local entrepre...
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- Redeveloping an Old City in the Right (And Thoughtful) Way 7.28.10 6:43pmSyracuse, N.Y. is “rightsizing the city” with the help of a partnership among Mayor Stephanie Miner, Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor and Vice President of Community Engagement Marilyn Higgins (both CEOs for Cities members), assorted neighborhood groups and business associations. An inspiring article posted on citiwire.net says that slowly but su...
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- The Accidental Giant of Higher Education 7.26.10 3:01pm"A woman with a plan" is the description the New York Times gives Dr. Nancy Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York. In very short order, she has turned the "unloved colossus" into the best economic development hope for the state of New York. "My belief is that to move an organization forward you have to have a comm...
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- More Federal Funds for Tennessee 9.2.10 3:09pmIn the federal Race to the Top, Tennessee is surely a competitor. The state will share in a $170 million Race to the Top Assessment Program grant announced today by the U.s. Department of Education.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]...
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- Zoo On Ice 9.1.10 9:07pmIt won't just be penguins skating around the Memphis Zoo this winter. The Zoo announced today that it will build an outdoor ice-skating rink, to open in November.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]...
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- Midnight Ride Hit and Run 8.30.10 6:33pmI've heard two accounts this morning of a hit-and-run during the middle of Saturday night's popular Midnight Classic Bike Tour. Apparently, around 12:30 a.m.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]...
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- More With MCS Consultant Jeffrey Hernandez 8.26.10 1:45pmAs part of this week's print extravaganza, I interviewed controversial Memphis City Schools (MCS) consultant Jeffrey Hernandez. His $1,500-a-day consulting fee, coupled with an intense animosity for him from some parents in Palm Beach County and his ties to superintendent Kriner Cash and deputy superintendent Irving Hamer, have caused questions about hi...
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- Art Scene 8.24.10 8:55pm(Sorry posting has been so light thus far in the week. It's been crazy busy around here.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]...
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- The Dance and Data of the Lemons 8.20.10 9:47pmLast week, the LA Times began an ambitious series focused on teacher effectiveness at the Los Angeles Unified School District. Using value-added data compiled from seven years of math and English test scores, the newspaper is exploring the (often, quite large) disparities between effective and ineffective teachers.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments ...
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