Author Archive
September 9th, 2010 12:19am UTC
2 Comments
We seem unable to shake off one of our most serious examples of civic lethargy: our tendency to take our most famous international export for granted as we talk about attracting and keeping creative workers – music. Meanwhile, the rich get richer. Up I-40, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean continues to drive new thinking about his [...]
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September 7th, 2010 12:21am UTC
19 Comments
The dog days of summer in Memphis are always hard enough, but this year’s bitter injection of race, rage and resentment has made it nothing short of debilitating. Only Herman Melville conceived of a force of nature as relentless and obsessive as race in Memphis, our own great whale regularly surfacing to the detriment of [...]
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September 3rd, 2010 12:52am UTC
40 Comments
We’re as appalled as the next person by the fact that former Collierville Mayor Linda Kerley was kicked out of a meeting by anti-consolidation forces in a Shelby County elementary school, but while the news media concentrated on whether it was indeed a public meeting, our question is more fundamental: Since when are campaign meetings [...]
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September 1st, 2010 12:30am UTC
15 Comments
It’s the political equivalent of no good deed going unpunished. That’s the moral of the Memphis City Council’s attempt to bring reason to the city’s inequitable tax burden. But the Tennessee Supreme Court isn’t known for its legal courage, so instead of hearing arguments on this core question, it ducked. It declined to take up [...]
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August 30th, 2010 12:54am UTC
10 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 [...]
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August 27th, 2010 12:33am UTC
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 [...]
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August 26th, 2010 12:17am UTC
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 [...]
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August 25th, 2010 12:05am UTC
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 [...]
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August 23rd, 2010 12:05am UTC
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 [...]
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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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