by Tommy Pacello (RSS) Uncategorized | August 30th, 2010 4:30pm CDT | 9 Comments
The past couple of days I’ve been thinking about the City’s short sighted decision to approve the CVS at Union and Cooper over recommendations of rejection from both Office of Planning and Development and the Land Use Control Board. Why is it that just as the City seems to be gaining momentum (Unified Development Code [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Parks and Greening, Uncategorized | August 30th, 2010 12:54am CDT | 12 Comments
Tom Lee Park is the worst riverfront park in the country. That’s the comment made to Memphis City Council by Riverfront Development Corporation President Benny Lendermon, and surely, this is an RDC statement we can all agree to. Rarely has such prime waterfront public realm real estate been put to such abysmal use in any [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 27th, 2010 12:33am CDT | 9 Comments
Perhaps what local government needs most is a Department of Connecting the Dots. While one public agency talks about creating a workforce that can compete in the knowledge economy, another gives tax freezes to companies that perpetuate low-wage, low-skill jobs. While one government launches a “sustainability agenda,” no government seems able to rein in sprawl-inducing [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 26th, 2010 12:17am CDT | 3 Comments
It seems that those of us who care about the built environment, urban design and planning, public realm and quality of life are often talking about it after a decision by government that flies in the face of a city that cares about itself. Maybe we should create a way, a process or a [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Planning and Urban Design | August 25th, 2010 12:05am CDT | 11 Comments
These are days when optimism and hopefulness have actually been realistic attitudes for us in Memphis. Yesterday’s Memphis City Council meeting was a reality check, showing that we have a ways to go. It’s no secret that overall, we’re positive about this Council, particularly its courage in confronting the tax equity issue that have foundered [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development, Uncategorized | August 23rd, 2010 12:05am CDT | 10 Comments
We know the primary job description for a Chamber of Commerce is to be a reliable cheerleader for Memphis, but there are times when we just crave someone to tell us the truth. While we admire the dependable hyperbole that’s attached to all things Memphis, we are concerned that our leadership – not just at [...]
by John Lawrence (RSS) Uncategorized | August 20th, 2010 10:56am CDT | 8 Comments
This is the great recession, right? No one is moving on anything, right? Besides, Memphis is an extraordinary city with everything to offer and if there was a move to make it would be here, right? Then how is it that over only two weeks in July, Olive Branch, Mississippi, took the gold medal in [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 19th, 2010 10:44am CDT | 36 Comments
Just when it’s hard to imagine the Shelby County Democratic Party being more out-of-touch, it manages to do something else to top itself. It’s hard not to conclude that the Republican sweep of Shelby County elected offices in the recent election is a reflection of the general disarray and ineffectiveness of our local Democratic Party. [...]
by Julie Ellis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 17th, 2010 12:29am CDT | 11 Comments
Imagine Memphis, as it celebrates its 200th year in 2019—only 9 years away— and Shelby County Government – celebrating its 200th in 2020 – are known as the “FedEx and St. Jude City of the United States”– where our government absolutely positively delivers premium service to all citizens at a competitive price and where the [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 17th, 2010 12:17am CDT | 7 Comments
It’s customary for optimism to accompany the election of a new mayor – either city or county – because of the hope that he and his mayoral counterpart will be able to work together to create a leap of progress for the community. The optimism surfaced when A C Wharton was elected county mayor, and [...]
by Steve Bares (RSS) Uncategorized | August 13th, 2010 12:57pm CDT | 3 Comments
How “green” is Memphis? In today’s world of energy issues, from spills to national security, the question of a community’s level of greenness has never been more important. To many people, the concept of green is defined by a few issues that have been highly marketed by various interest groups. Things like wind turbines, solar [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 12th, 2010 12:43am CDT | 41 Comments
There’s one favorite response by “county” voters opposing a new government for our community We don’t want Memphis coming out here. It’s a glimpse into how complete the denial is about the interlocking relationship between the city and the suburbs. It’s also a glimpse into the self-delusion that denies the obvious: Memphis is already there, [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | August 11th, 2010 12:45am CDT | 4 Comments
“Every system is perfectly designed to achieve exactly the results it achieves.” Dr. Don Berwick may have been talking about the health care system, but he could have just as easily been talking about economic development in Memphis. Repeatedly, we act as if our economic challenges just happened or were driven by forces beyond our [...]
by Margot McNeeley (RSS) Uncategorized | August 11th, 2010 12:07am CDT | 18 Comments
I’m so proud of Memphis and all we’re doing to become a more sustainable city. But an event last week had me wondering if we’re really ready to become that city. A friend of mine was recently pulled over and given a ticket for three Class C Misdemeanor charges. No big deal, right? This happens every [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 10th, 2010 12:46pm CDT | 4 Comments
Our rabbi, Micah Greenstein of Temple Israel, delivered this statement yesterday as one of the religious leaders speaking for the proposed anti-discrimination ordinance before Memphis City Council: As a fomer President of the Memphis Ministers Association and twenty-year religious leader involved in the greater community, it’s become clear to me that whenever theology mixes with [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development | August 9th, 2010 12:07am CDT | 11 Comments
We are losing record numbers of jobs. The number of business prospects has flatlined. The number of applications for public incentives can be counted on one hand. So, faced with these brutal facts of life and the need for dramatic action, the priorities of the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Economic Development seem strange [...]
by Josh Whitehead (RSS) Uncategorized | August 8th, 2010 4:43pm CDT | 2 Comments
This past decade witnessed one of the biggest urban building booms in the nation’s history. Memphis enjoyed its share of higher-density multifamily construction, renovation and conversion within its borders, particularly in its downtown. As we find footing in the wake of the housing market meltdown and ponder what market share multifamily should represent in this [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 5th, 2010 3:03pm CDT | 16 Comments
So, I’m sitting on the couch at home minding my own business when my wife of 40 years complains that I’m not pulling my weight around the house. There’s no reason, she says, that I can’t be more help. Wisely, I apologize but offer a defense. “It’s not my fault,” I sputter. ‘It’s those damn [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Economic Development, Uncategorized | August 4th, 2010 12:42am CDT | 7 Comments
Economic development in our community – in the midst of a 40,000 job loss streak – isn’t as much a question of who’s running things or how it’s structured as getting the priorities right. And it’s clear that these should be start-ups and entrepreneurs. We applaud Memphis Mayor A C Wharton for showing our major [...]
by John Lawrence (RSS) Uncategorized | August 4th, 2010 12:19am CDT | 2 Comments
Last winter I wrote about five hours spent in Downtown Denver because I was so marvelously inspired by what was happening there. I have not felt that excited since… until now. A few days in DC and my outlook on life could not be any better. There is no better time than now to [...]
by Chris Sanders (RSS) Uncategorized | August 2nd, 2010 3:13pm CDT | 4 Comments
Marriage grabs all the headlines when it comes to so-called “gay rights” in the mainstream media. It’s understandable. Relationships matter. Legally sanctioned relationships confer protections, rights, responsibilities, benefits, etc. They connect us deeply and that’s why the symbolic warfare around them is so intense. What doesn’t get covered nearly often enough is the jobs agenda [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) Uncategorized | August 2nd, 2010 12:44am CDT | 8 Comments
The most exciting things happening in Memphis these days aren’t in the halls of power or among the power brokers. Instead, they are produced by a burst of entrepreneurship unseen here in 30 years However, this time, the energy comes from a special breed of entrepreneurs – social entrepreneurs. It shouldn’t be surprising that our [...]
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
This ongoing series of photographs is intended to show the daily lives of these single mothers in order to invoke recognition of their similarities to all mothers, along with understanding and empathy from the viewer of the strengths that these single mothers possess within the challenging situations they face. My hope is that newfound empathy with these mothers’ lives will give people some pause before they condemn single mothers when discussing issues such as welfare and other politically charged hot buttons.
