It looks like Memphis Area Transit Authority has finally reached a long awaited point: put up or shut up. For years, MATA has offered up numerous justifications for the sad state of public transit in Memphis. At a time when...
Read MoreWe wrote April 17, 2006, that if there was any justification for a Tax Increment Financing District, Broad Avenue is it. Truth be told, it was pretty much an exercise in faith at the time, but since then, a group of urban...
Read MoreNothing is quite as confusing as government financing, and that’s never been truer than now. There seems to be big numbers every where – the $110 million or so for The Pyramid and Pinch District retail project, there’s the idea...
Read MoreThis is the second post about the issue of Memphis tax inequity. The first part was published in the previous post. Effectively addressing the serious issues facing Memphis is complicated by the absence of a coherent...
Read MoreSeveral years ago, Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin said “functional consolidation doesn’t work” and blew up several city-county law enforcement units. At the time, many suggested that he acted on deep political motivations,...
Read MoreMore and more, regionalism is a distraction from the things that really matter for cities. That’s certainly the case in Memphis, and it’s why we’re swearing off any regional plans and programs until it’s proven clearly that...
Read MoreEffective leadership is about using data to tell stories. That’s the opinion of Kip Bergstrom, former head of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council and economic development innovator. “The right kind of story at the right...
Read MoreA couple of years ago, Jeff Speck, former head of design for the National Endowment for the Arts and co-author of Suburban Nation, took the measure of our city and issued “12 Modest Suggestions for Making Memphis...
Read MoreIt’s common in a dysfunctional family for people to gang up on the family member who wants to make things better. That’s probably how the Metro Charter Commission and Rebuild Government feel these days. In return for suggesting...
Read MoreMemphis City Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash’s announcement that 50 city schools should be closed was right on target. It also hints at a much larger problem: Too many City of Memphis facilities are in the wrong places. They...
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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 →