There is an unfortunate narrative that emerges every now and again in Shelby County Government whenever a project whose benefits accrue to Memphis comes up. The latest example was Shelby County Commissioner Steve Basar’s search...
Read MoreTennessee Tea Party Republican Representative Bill Dunn, Knoxville, saw fit today to inject his extremist anti-public education views into the Memphis Pre-K sales tax referendum today with a column in The Commercial Appeal. ...
Read MoreFor past few weeks, John Lawrence, manager of economic development planning for EDGE, has been writing a series about the Memphis and Shelby County Regional Economic Development Plan. We are deeply grateful to him for taking...
Read MoreBy John Lawrence The final strategic direction of the Memphis & Shelby County Regional Economic Development Plan may seem simple. However, it is foundational for accomplishment of any goal we set. Capacity to research,...
Read MoreState of Tennessee tourism officials recently released their new strategic plan, and one of its key priorities was to establish the state as an amateur sports destination. Memphis is poised to do just that with city...
Read MoreBy John Lawrence We need to shape the built environment to enable and facilitate innovative, new-economy growth. Considerable employee-to-firm and firm-to-firm mismatches exist in the Memphis Metro area, while the new knowledge...
Read MoreWell, it was bound to surface sooner or later. Anytime there’s a debate about new taxes or increasing the sales tax, the Shelby County wheel tax is almost certain to make an appearance. As usual, almost no one gets the facts...
Read Moreby John Lawrence This community needs to invest in innovation programs that are stage-specific and linked to regional industry strengths. Innovation is a crucial component in the new economy. Innovative entrepreneurial...
Read MoreBy John Lawrence: A legacy of agriculture and distribution has left this region home to a low-skill workforce engaged in mostly repetitive, non-innovative jobs. The Memphis MSA ranks 83 out of 100 on the Brookings Skills Gap...
Read MoreBy John Lawrence Despite possessing unparalleled infrastructure for international trade, the Memphis Region rarely promotes this infrastructure strategically and provides little export business assistance. An export plan is...
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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 →