Archive for January, 2010
January 29th, 2010 1:34pm UTC
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While we’re on the theme prompted by New York Times about what a special place Memphis is, we want to throw the spotlight on five special people who make it so. The first two get our votes for Role Models for 2010, the second gets our vote for person who most reminds us why love this crazy place, [...]
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January 29th, 2010 11:17am UTC
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B.E.G.-2015 is a not-so tongue-in-cheek plan to: a) Spend $5 million to attract smart people or BRAINS to Memphis. b) Inspire commitment or ENERGY from existing Memphians to finish something big. The Power of 10 was discussed in the last post. c) Exploit profit motivations or GREED to keep the process rolling along. We have [...]
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January 29th, 2010 9:57am UTC
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Hoping to do for roads what LEED has done for buildings and Energy Star for household appliances, Greenroads has unveiled a new rating system for sustainable road design and construction. In development since early 2007, the system seeks to encourage the more than $80-billion-a-year road construction industry to adopt standards that will build sustainable roads [...]
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January 29th, 2010 12:16am UTC
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There’s nothing better than seeing our city through other people’s eyes. That’s why we are so proud to have Amie Vanderford’s distinctive eye on Memphis featured on our blog. Now the New York Times is reporting on the quirky, funky Memphis that we all know and love. I’m also proud to say that my sons-in-law, [...]
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January 28th, 2010 11:16am UTC
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B.E.G.-2015 is a not-so tongue-in-cheek plan to: a) Spend $5 million to attract smart people or BRAINS to Memphis. The M-Prize for Brains was discussed in the last post. b) Inspire commitment or ENERGY from existing Memphians to finish something big. c) Exploit profit motivations or GREED to keep the process rolling along. Leland Speed [...]
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January 28th, 2010 12:05am UTC
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Ever heard this before? “Slow-moving, backwards Southern town with an inferiority complex.” Nope, it’s not an extended version of Time magazine’s infamous description of Memphis as a “backwater river town.” Rather, it’s a description of Jacksonville that was given of Jacksonville a year before Time‘s slap in our face. No one’s making fun of Jacksonville [...]
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January 27th, 2010 11:15am UTC
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Urban revitalization really needs three things: available buildings or property, loyal developers or investors, and the right incentives to make the deal as profitable as a suburban project. Sounds simple enough and, after all, this is the way everyone has been doing it. However, this represents a tactic that does not fundamentally change very much [...]
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January 27th, 2010 11:13am UTC
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It’s been said that the Wharton Administration will announce some striking changes in City Hall soon, and in light of that, we reprise this post of September 13: The listening tour on merging governments was based on a central premise: the business models for Memphis and Shelby County Governments are broken. There may be disagreements [...]
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January 27th, 2010 12:04am UTC
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Local sustainability efforts and a heartwarming story about a Memphis-Haiti connection.
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January 26th, 2010 12:07am UTC
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If Memphis was a real estate business, we would say that it suffers from a low occupancy rate. If we ran a shopping center with this problem, we could spend some money making it more attractive and offering special leases, we could lose money and suck it up, or we could raise rents, but [...]
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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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