Archive for October, 2009
October 31st, 2009 1:19pm UTC
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In Cincinnati, a clumsily written ballot measure would effectively strangle any rail project in the city and Joe Sprengard is fighting to strike it down. We’ll talk with Joe about forming Cincinnatians for Progress and how he built a political movement in that city. And we’ll revisit my conversation with Alex Steffen. Alex is a [...]
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October 30th, 2009 12:58am UTC
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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is a mayor in the tradition of Denver’s John Hickenlooper. Coming from a restaurant background, skeptics about his potential as mayor were outspoken and prevalent. And yet, he defied all expectations and two years ago, he got 72% of the vote in his re-election campaign that exploited a record that [...]
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October 27th, 2009 11:03pm UTC
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Mayor Joe Riley has been a great mayor for so long he’s often overlooked these days. Few who see him would cast him as a political powerbroker. And yet, he has reshaped this city to such an extent that it’s essentially unrecognizable from the poor, racially torn backwater that had lost hope in the future [...]
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October 26th, 2009 10:57pm UTC
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When Anthony Williams was elected in 1999 as the fourth mayor of Washington, D.C., the city was in crisis, racked with corruption and teetering on the financial brink. As a result, his most pressing objectives were to restore the public’s confidence in their city government. In fact, when he was first elected, the District of [...]
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October 25th, 2009 10:49pm UTC
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Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is widely recognized as one of America’s great mayors, taking office at a time when her city was demoralized, government was seen as part of the problem and city government was racked with corruption. When she leaves office in a few weeks, she will have restored trust in government by taking [...]
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October 24th, 2009 8:41pm UTC
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This week on Smart City we’ll talk to the creator of one of my favorite websites, Walkscore.com. Matt Lerner is the Chief Technology Officer of Frontseat.org, a company that builds software for civic life. He’ll tell us about making software that makes the world a better place. And we’ll talk to Sadhu Johnston. Sadhu is [...]
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October 23rd, 2009 11:59am UTC
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Watch this 10 minute video. Replace Memphis every time they say Birmingham. Substitute I-269 every time they say Birmingham Beltline. They have the same Chamber, the same project, the same inner-city desires and the same need for transit. Fascinating and frightening. A recent report on Blueprint America for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, hones in [...]
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October 22nd, 2009 9:33pm UTC
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Our list of great city mayors always starts with Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. A geologist and restaurateur by profession, he’s been a remarkable mayor who built record approval ratings throughout his entire region and invested them to produce breathtaking results – nationally praised homeless program, a regional light rail system, growth plans, downtown development, and [...]
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October 21st, 2009 10:31pm UTC
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Simply put, there is no basis for the Shelby County Board of Commissioners’ approving county government’s gift of 140 lots to Buehler Homes. It is simply wrong on so many levels. Politically, it’s essentially the majority invoking their will on a district whose direct representative to Shelby County Board of Commissioners opposes the transfer. More [...]
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October 20th, 2009 10:09pm UTC
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Here’s our advice to Memphis Councilman Shea Flinn: When confronted with the rantings of Councilman Joe Brown, just say: Councilman, I simply refuse to go into mental combat with an unarmed man. Those are the immortal words used by former City Councilman Fred Davis to a colleague decades ago when his colleague’s argument crossed the [...]
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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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