Author: Smart City Memphis

Hurricane Katrina was an event that revealed clearly the fissures that exist in the divergent world views of whites and African-Americans. Tennessee Waltz is another.Here, white Commercial Appeal editorial writers flippantly...

From the Nashville Tennessean:Mayor Bill Purcell said yesterday he will not seek a third term of office, ending months of speculation and creating a wide-open field for the August 2007 race for his successor.The timing of...

You can forgive environmentalists for flashbacks to the Overton Park expressway controversy in the 1970’s as they watch the relentless push to to construct the massive Walnut Grove Road/Humphreys Boulevard redesign although a...

There is an aphorism in local government that goes like this: “There’s always money for anything the mayor wants to do.” It doesn’t matter if the deficit is growing, it doesn’t matter if the budget is out of balance and it...

If officials in the Capitol are confused about the role of Homeland Security and the role of FEMA, they’re not alone. The same goes here.In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, elected officials sought to reassure us that we...

Last week, the Tennessee Film Commission held a hearing in Memphis that focused on the need for tax incentives for film companies in our state. Chief among the witnesses was Linn Sitler, executive director of the Memphis and...

In a week when the Shelby County Board of Commissioners took a landmark vote to end “business as usual” and enact a moratorium on development, it was disappointing to see more of the same on two other fronts — the Memphis...

Mr. Rove, meet Mr. Haldeman. Or Mr. Adams. Or Mr. Lance. Or Mr. Sununu.Karl Rove continues to hang on for dear life following yet another date with the grand jury to testify about his Valerie Plame leak. Even owning the...

From the Globe and Mail, Toronto: It’s time to shift the focus from blaming individuals for being fat to understanding how the environment we live in discourages healthy living, a scientific think tank has...

Sixteen bullet points makes for a full Memphis agenda. (See “Kicking the Addiction to Tax Freezes.”) But here are four more to make it 20.Examine City, County and MLGW Compensation and Pension Systems and Report...