Author: SCM

From Governing magazine: Step aside Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle. Sorry, but you’re just not cool anymore. These days, you need to have crumbling roads, triple-decker apartment buildings, old-fashioned...

Daves Redistricting application lets you draw congressional districts the way you think they should be. It uses real data from the U.S. Census Bureau (currently Census 2000 + population estimates from 2008 or from the 5-year...

Ken Miller recently posted a column to governing.com about effective leadership from city directors.  To read it in its entirely, click here. The following is a synopsis: Below are my eight best ideas to help you make the...

We asked one of our favorite people, Tommy Pacello, now of Austin, Texas, but a native Memphian and booster of his city for his thoughts for 2011. Here are his thoughts: Two New Years thoughts for Memphians: (1)    Travel more...

As we have pointed out previously, in 1996, then-Shelby County Commissioner Mark Norris argued that Memphians should not have the right to vote in the election of Shelby County Schools board members. In a meeting of the Board of...

From Education Week August 2, 1995, an article about a city referendum, consolidating a larger school district into a smaller one, and no interference from Tennessee Legislature. Here’s the article from 15 years ago: The...

My new year’s resolution is to be a more active participant in our community, because Memphis is a city that thrives on and requires civic involvement.

We write an awful lot about the importance of a college-educated workforce, which accounts for almost 70% of a city’s economic success.  Our friend, George Lord, sent us this link to a map that shows the percentage of the...

This commentary by Memphis civic leader J. R. (Pitt) Hyde is a reminder that the important school reform work under way in Memphis City Schools must be protected if it relinquishes its charter: There is a great deal of...