Update (9:09 a.m.): It appears that what will be ending tomorrow are primarily the relationships with the outside contractors. Metro Public Works will continue to pick up debris in those areas where their monitors tell them it exists. If you are aware of other flood debris that needs pickup from the curb, email Stacy McCoy... Continue Reading →
Custodian or Cleaning Service?
cus-to-di-an [kuh-stoh-dee-uhn] -noun 1. a person who has custody; keeper; guardian 2. a person entrusted with guarding or maintaining a property; janitor. This past Tuesday, under cover of a discussion of the budget for 2011, the Metro Nashville School Board made a major decision of policy related to the care and operation of our schools.... Continue Reading →
And While I Am Throwing Bombs…
Is it time to rethink the entire notion of electing persons to fill the various Court Clerk offices? I suppose in a relatively rural and small county with a minimal amount of traffic a bit of political wrangling may not be a big deal. However when a city gets the size of Metro Nashville, these... Continue Reading →
A Voice Crying in the Wilderness of Privatization
There should be no doubt by now that Nashville is ground zero for the privatization of public services and functions, and during the past 40 years of life in this city, I have seen the rise of the belief that privatization is the solution for all of our ills. So, when Jesse Register and the... Continue Reading →
Props to Rich Riebling
Okay, this post is a bit of hearsay, but if the story I heard is correct, then I want to go on the record as offering thanks to Rich Riebling, Nashville's Finance Director. Last week, during the Metro General Hospital budget review session to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Metro Council, a certain... Continue Reading →
Shades of Gray
Apparently I struck a nerve with many in the blog post I wrote on the fairgrounds, and it is important that we recognize the place of factors like class, race, national heritage, gender, and all sorts of other things in the decision making process. Decisions such as the one about the fairgrounds are seldom made... Continue Reading →
What’s The Deal with the Fairgrounds?
Recently I've been following the Nashville Neighborhoods Google Group, hearing about some of the issues that are of importance to neighborhood groups throughout the city. Last week the buzz was all about the Electronic Sign Zoning which seems to be a big concern, however since that was deferred indefinitely, the buzz has moved back to... Continue Reading →
More on Community Synergy
My last two posts have focused on the issue of openness and transparency in planning for community growth. Of course I recognize that there are limits to how open one can be, and that some businesses have models that require confidential communication (part of the issue with the Hickory Hollow WIC proposal is a need... Continue Reading →
Will There Be A Community Center in Antioch?
Yesterday Phil Williams at Newschannel5 ran a story on the possibility of privatizing the public parking system of Nashville. There are lots of questions to be considered about that possibility, but in reading the story on-line I was pointed to an November 19 e-mail from Rich Riebling to Mayor Dean which also contained something else... Continue Reading →
My Ethical Disconnect or the Nature of Hospitality
During the past weeks, we have spent much time thinking about the financial viability of the proposed convention center, probably too much along the way. There has been much debate on whether the projections are accurate, and whether the market can sustain the burden we are bearing. Throughout the conversation proponents of the MCC project... Continue Reading →
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