So, Who Can Vouch For The Vouchers?
We’re simply unable to join the growing push for school vouchers, chiefly because it’s simply impossible for us to imagine that the Tennessee Legislature is really...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 3, 2016 | Education, Tennessee Legislature
We’re simply unable to join the growing push for school vouchers, chiefly because it’s simply impossible for us to imagine that the Tennessee Legislature is really...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 1, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization
In politics, as in homicide investigations, it’s reasonable to be wary of things that are supposed to be coincidences. That’s why it was strange to some that in the space of a few...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 29, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization
We guess we spoke too soon. We were euphoric about last year’s improvements to Main Street after at least 15 years of dereliction by City of Memphis as shown by broken pavers, amateurish plywood repairs over broken grates, dead...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 28, 2016 | Economic Development, Leadership, Livability, Talent
“People who are committed to the future and what they do in their cities cannot be underestimated.” —Joe Cortright Memphis, incorporated as a city in 1826, is about 10 years away from...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 25, 2016 | City of Memphis Government, Parks and Greening
It seems to us that there’s a surge in investments and improvements in parks that hasn’t been seen since the 19th century, and as a result, this may well be seen by...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 21, 2016 | Arts and Culture, Talent
We were recently reading two books by Memphis authors – well, they live on opposite sides of the country now but we still refuse to not consider them our own...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 19, 2016 | City of Memphis Government
The assertions in recent years by the Wharton Administration that City of Memphis could not afford a $5 million parking garage are cast into doubt by its own budgets, which show that zoo...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 18, 2016 | Livability, Parks and Greening
The line between being a highly regarded, trusted organization, company, or government and one that isn’t can be thin and fragile. It’s surprising how often we see an...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 15, 2016 | Economic Development, Taxation
Here we go again. A long-term tax freeze is expiring but the company wants more. Next step: the threat to move. In retrospect, one of the great blunders by former mayor A C...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 13, 2016 | Livability, Parks and Greening
It’s about as easy for us to imagine Shelby Farms Park without its herd of buffaloes as it is to imagine it without Laura Wolff Morris. But sometime in the coming...
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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 →
Since 2005, this has been Smart City Consulting’s blog with the aim of connecting the dots and providing perspective on issues and policies shaping Memphis. Editor and primary author is Tom Jones, City Journal columnist at Memphis magazine, author of two books and a museum exhibition, and consultant on public policy and strategic planning. He has written articles for MLK50, The Commercial Appeal, and USA Today. The blog was called one of the most intriguing blogs in the U.S. by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change; The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal said it “provides some of the most well-thought-out thinking about Memphis’ past, present, and future you’ll find anywhere,” and the Memphis Flyer said: “This incredibly well-written blog sets out to solve the city’s ills – from the mayor to MATA – with out-of-the-box thinking, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ideas.” If you have questions, submissions, or ideas for posts, please email Tom Jones, at tjones@smartcityconsulting.com.