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We’re blogging today over at the Live Where You Live blog . We’re talking about what makes Memphis special and the value, economic and otherwise, of being proud of our city.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 9, 2009
We’re blogging today over at the Live Where You Live blog . We’re talking about what makes Memphis special and the value, economic and otherwise, of being proud of our city.
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 8, 2009
There’s such a fine line in politics between populism and pandering.In his political career, Shelby County’s top prosecutor Bill Gibbons has had his share of the latter and his attempts at the former have generally seemed forced...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 8, 2009 | Memphis City Schools
Someone needs to pass Memphis City Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash a note in poly sci class. The reluctance of this community to embrace the idea of taxing authority for our dual – and dueling – school systems has nothing to...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 6, 2009
Why does one city succeed while another very similar city is left behind? This week on Smart City we take a look at two such industrial towns, and we’ll also examine the uncertain future of Cleveland.Sean Safford is the...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 5, 2009 | Taxation
It appears that the Health Department answered the wrong question.It’s not how much would the department lose in state and federal money if Memphis City Council eliminates city funding of $14 million. Instead, the real question...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 4, 2009 | Economic Development, Regionalism, Taxation
Now that the chief administrative officers have fired off letters claiming that the other one’s government owes his government money, let’s hope they now schedule a time to get in the same room and talk seriously about the tax...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 2, 2009
With real estate values in the tank, retail sales plummeting, new construction halted and lay-offs mounting, the budgets of our local governments in the Memphis region are under severe pressure. It’s clear that there...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Feb 2, 2009
With the odds against an indictment of Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton ebbing, we can only hope that federal investigators know what they are doing.It seems that more and more, after a decade of federal investigators stirring...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 31, 2009
New York City and Cape Town South Africa are two cities with two very different histories. This week on the show we’re talking about the history of New York and the future of Cape Town.Guy Lundy is the CEO of Accelerate...
Read MorePosted by Smart City Memphis | Jan 29, 2009
Here’s the hypothesis:Tennessee’s liberal annexation law means that Memphis – unlike many similarly-sized cities across the U.S. – is not landlocked by small towns, and because of it, its population has been growing or...
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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.