This mania for labeling people so that we don?t have to engage with them on the validity of their ideas has accelerated during the past few years. Perhaps it is talk radio, with its tendency to reduce everything to name-calling sound-bites.
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Category Archives: Local Government
Mixed Signals
One thing is certain: the next four years at the Indiana Statehouse will be interesting. How it all turns out will depend upon which of the two Mitch Daniels ends up being governor.
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Unigov & You
In 1977, when I first walked into the City-County Building after being appointed Corporation Counsel, I was handed a formidable green, spiral-bound book by John Krauss, who was then Executive Director of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee. Its title was "Unigov and You," and it laid out in great detail the operations of "unified" city government that had gone into effect in 1971.
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Investing in Cities
On our recent vacation, Scandinavia gave us something of a refresher course on what makes a city attractive and inviting. Great cities have good architecture, ample and well-tended public spaces, excellent education and transportation systems. They are safe, pedestrian-friendly and well-maintained. They offer a variety of public amenities?museums, parks, art galleries, markets?as well as thriving and abundant shops and cafes. Such cities draw tourists and their dollars, but they also draw businesses and residents.
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Investing in Cities
The problem is, when we must pay businesses to come or stay downtown, we are engaged in treating a symptom, rather than addressing the root problem. What is it that employers want but cannot get in our city? What can local government do to ensure that downtown?and the city overall?is a place businesses want to be? What civic improvements might make financial incentives unnecessary?
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