Washington D.C. Living
Kelly and I had the great opportunity to spend the last few weeks living in Washington, D.C. and exploring the surrounding region. Some photos and a few observations follow:
Category places
Shutting down Richmond Brainstorm
Five years ago this month I launched the community improvement website RichmondBrainstorm.com. The site allowed users to submit ideas for ways to make Richmond, Indiana a better place, allowed other users to discuss and vote on those ideas, and shared…
Educational attainment in Wayne County, Indiana
An article in today's Palladium-Item quotes the U.S. Census Bureau statistic that "7.9 percent of Wayne County residents have a four-year college degree. The state average is 14.6 percent." I haven't been able to find the data that supports those…
RP&L misses opportunity to engage on energy policy
In a guest column in today's Palladium-Item, Richmond Power and Light missed an opportunity to engage in a meaningful discussion about the future of energy and power generation in our region. Instead, General Manager James French took the unfortunate…
8 ways for the Wayne County Democratic Party to be more effective
'Tis the season for political reckonings. As the national Republican Party performs a messy post-mortem on its failed strategy to get Mitt Romney elected President, the Democratic Party in Indiana is also asking itself what it needs to do to…
Transparency redux, with progress
A month ago I blogged about some specific examples of what it would mean for local government and related organizations to be more transparent in their operations. I also sent a copy of my remarks to nine local elected officials…
A city in distress
If you live in or near Richmond, Indiana, it looks like you picked the wrong year to stop sniffing glue. (Does anyone get Airplane! references anymore?) Have you ever scored yourself on the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, which measures your…
An anonymous letter about the state of Richmond
Last month I received an anonymous and wide-ranging letter in the mail about the state of affairs in Richmond, Indiana, addressed to "Positive Place Committee, Madame Mayor, Richmond and Wayne County Government Officials, Palladium Item Advisory Board, and Leadership pundits."…
Against the proposed use of Richmond tech park funds
A year ago I blogged about the $5 million dollars that Richmond had available to promote high-tech business growth in our city. An article in Sunday's Palladium-Item reports that the City of Richmond is proposing to use the funds to…
5 Things I Learned In Antigua
Five things I learned on a trip to the island of Antigua: When the whole island is a cozy 12 miles across, accurate maps and road signs are not much of a priority. Great for locals, not so great for…