Not so fast, Nick Cortolillo: Branding downtown New Albany

NA Confidential returns to the sentiment voiced in Sunday’s Tribune by longtime downtown New Albany business owner Don Preston:

“Let’s stop kidding ourselves – there’s no reason for general, multi-purpose shopping downtown; it’s mostly for specialty stores.”

Quite obviously, Preston Arts Center is one such specialty store. It has survived by realistically surveying the marketplace, targeting a niche therein, and being very good at serving it.

By doing so, Preston Arts Center has become a branded destination for those consumers who choose to eschew the lowest price, opting instead for the most knowledgeable service, and willing to go a bit out of the exurb to find it.

NA Confidential believes that the same niche/destination principles that work for Preston Arts Center and others will work for New Albany’s downtown retail district as a whole.

Downtown New Albany itself must be transformed into a brand, which is defined as “the proprietary visual, emotional, rational and cultural image that you associate with a company or product.” In this instance, instead of a specific product or company, the brand will refer to the area itself.

The overall strategic object of city government, its Develop New Albany ancillary and the revived Downtown Merchant’s Association should be to work toward organizing the actual physical space of downtown New Albany to best encourage its branding and reconstruction along the lines of niche and destination retail – shops, eateries, pubs, galleries and the like.

Tactical corollaries of this strategic design should include matters like instigating downtown’s beautification and greening, the addition of municipal surface parking, and a savvy public relations effort along the lines of the Labour Party’s “Cool Britannia.”

However, the single most important task is one reserved to city government itself, because it and only it possesses the broad means to set the agenda and to persuade downtown property owners to use their buildings, not just to exploit the tax benefits of rotting lumber, but in such a manner that niche and destination retail start-ups have a level playing field upon which to participate.

Look no further than the precedent established by consecutive mayoral administrations. Municipal activism has been deemed fitting and proper when it comes to acquiring the land and properties needed for the construction of Scribner Place. Certainly the same logic is valid when it comes to dangling carrots and wielding sticks with the aim of restoring the infrastructure of downtown to use and usefulness, as these are goals firmly within the mandate of government to act in the public interest.

There will be those who protest that this has been tried already in various ways, among them the “business incubator” model like the White House, in the ongoing operation of DNA, and in success stories like our downtown antique malls, a smattering of under-appreciated eateries and existing specialty retails businesses.

NA Confidential agrees that much hard work has been proffered by diligent and dedicated people, but with all due respect, these ventures have met with only mixed success, failing to achieve the required critical mass and the establishment of downtown New Albany as a viable brand because there has never been a well-defined idea of the target consumer for downtown New Albany, and consequently, of the target type of business for downtown New Albany.

Furthermore, the reason why there has not been a well-defined idea of the target consumer for downtown New Albany is because traditional cadres of leadership have not possessed the fundamental conceptual ability to see beyond New Albany to the wider world outside.

Indeed, this is the essence of vision, and it is as common in New Albany’s leadership circles as snow in Miami – it happens occasionally, but don’t pack your mittens.

The development of vision is precisely the reason why minor considerations of education, diversity and multiculturalism really matter. Just as regular exercise leads to physical fitness, regular thinking leads to intellectual vigor, to an expanded outlook, to creativity, and to the vision necessary to see beyond karaoke, mashed potatoes and Budweiser to Thai spices, reggae and microbrewed ale.

Is this elitism? I think not, but even if so, it is a variant of elitism calibrated to encourage a broadening of human experience as the best way to achieve expanded opportunities for all segments of society. This is the meritocracy that should be, not the passivity that currently passes for a plan.

Undoubtedly, almost every person involved with the effort to revive downtown New Albany has traveled to some locale or another, in America or abroad, and witnessed successful examples of the sorts of branded, destination-driven retail development that is so very suitable for downtown New Albany.

They act as though returning to New Albany requires checking their observations at the city limits and promising not to remember.

For decades, passive amnesia has failed to resolve the decline of downtown New Albany. If for no other reason, the process of elimination ordains that activism be given a chance.

Is there anyone in City Hall or DNA capable of formulating an activist agenda that seeks to lure a precisely targeted business that draws a certain type of customer to spaces that will be available for use?

If so, please step forward.

It ain't the meat, it's the motion

I found this excellent quote lurking near the alley behind the cul de sac on the very fringe of the information super byway.

It was written by the Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) .

"We should not judge of a man's merit by his good qualities, but by the use he can make of them."

And so, NA Confidential asks: Is there merit in the use we are making of our city?

Zaadz quotes

We note with pleasure that diplomatic recognition is a two-way street

In Sunday’s New Albany Tribune, Managing Editor Chris Morris gave himself a well-deserved pat on the back while surveying “Tribune land” and finding that the previous Sunday editorial concerning Mayor James Garner “sparked the interest of a few readers.”

Score points for Chris … two weeks running. His effort is noted and appreciated.

Along the way, Chris contributed a timely observation to the effect that a journalism teacher once told him that he’d be doing “his job right if readers couldn’t tell” if he were Republican or Democrat.

What followed caught me by surprise, because Chris proceeded to quote NA Confidential on the topic of his editorial, then alluded to our friendship, and finally added: “Unlike past editors of this paper, I believe Roger and I can dialogue, and disagree, without getting too personal. I appreciate the fact that he thinks enough of me that he will read my column.”

All I can say is right on, brother, and rest assured the same sentiment is offered in return. The newspaper and the Blog share a common interest in the city of New Albany, and dialogue between these entities as well as others of like mind can go far in defining who we are, where we’re going, and how we intend to get there.

Live from New Albany ... it's Sunday night!

( … so for quality when it counts, ask your doctor about Levitra, a medication for erectile dysfunction ... )

( ... da duh da duh – daaaah DUH! … applause ... )

Yes! All right! James Carter and the NA Confidential Founders Jazz Band! Take a bow, James, you're looking great – hey, was that a Bix riff there at the end?

(yeah, Rog, right out of “In a Mist”)

I thought so. Can’t fool an old timer like me.

(laughter)

Welcome back to NA Confidential. Our next guest is Amany Ali, City Editor of the New Albany Tribune in New Albany, Indiana.

Thanks to her popular nationally syndicated Sunday column, “It’s All About Me” – boy, she tells it like it is and like it should be – anyway, Amany has just landed her first talk show on the Springer Channel, and it’s called … well, what do YOU think it’s called?

(crickets chirping, cell phone beeps)

Oh, c’mon, doesn’t the studio audience have a pulse? Over here, espresso cart! What, the boys in the band don’t play loud enough to keep you awake?

(wah-wah-WAHHH; audience giggles)

All together now, after me … Amany’s cable show on the Springer Channel is … that’s right ...

IT’S ALL ABOUT ME!

(applause)

That’s more like it.

Okay, ladies and gentleman, please join me in welcoming Amany to NA Confidential. She’s going to be reading her latest release, and folks, this is the real thing – we’re a lip-synch-free zone, you know – so here she is, Amany Ali!

(curtain opens, enters to “Ride of the Valkries,” smiles and waves, and wild applause as she begins reading)

Nazi garb is never good … by Amany Ali, City Editor*

“Amany, you need to have your own show.

“You might be surprised how often I hear that statement. From my brothers and sisters to friends and acquaintances, I’m told more and more that my voice needs to be heard nationwide.

“I agree.

“I always have something to talk about. And I can talk to anybody. From the grocery store clerk, to the gas station attendant, to the people who change the oil in my car and even random people I meet while shopping. Most people are friendly when I break out into conversation; there are only a few people who look at me like I have a second head.

“I think the fact that I’m brutally honest, couple with the fact that I analyze topics to death, are what drive the need for my own show.

“My siblings, friends and co-workers are usually subject to my homespun rhetoric that is sometimes colored with words that could make some people blush.

“My most recent tirade came after reading a story and viewing photographs of England’s Prince Harry, who apparently left his brain at home when he decided to wear a Nazi uniform as a costume that was adorned with a swastika on the sleeve. Prince Harry wore the costume to a private party.

“According to the Associated Press, Prince Harry apologized for ‘a poor choice of costume.’

“Poor choice of costume?

“I don’t understand why the uniform was even available for purchase. And I don’t understand why anyone with half a brain and a shred of common sense would even look twice at such a costume, much less wear the thing.

“Dutches of York Sarah Ferguson defended Prince Harry, saying ‘I want someone to stand up for him and say he is a very good man, and I’m that person. Because I know what it is like to have a very bad press and to be continually criticized. It is very tiring and it is very unpleasant.’

“Prince Harry very well may be a ‘good man,’ but there’s no way that he can blame this most recent act of ridiculously bad judgment on bad press. The Prince simply made one of the worst, most inconsiderate decisions ever.

“Perhaps the Daily Telegraph’s Tom Utley said it best with: ‘All these excuses boil down to one: That Prince Harry is a stupid young man, who meant ho harm. That is what I would like very much to believe. But if it is true, then we are not talking about an average level of stupidity. We are talking about stupidity on an absolutely monumental scale.’

“According to CNN, Harry’s brother Prince William took part of the blame because he said he was present when his brother selected the costume at a shop in England. That’s amazing.

“According to the Associated Press, Jewish groups have encouraged Prince Harry to visit Auschwitz, where millions perished in gas chambers or died of starvation and disease.

“I suppose being educated is a start. But Prince Harry can do a couple things before making decisions: Think, and use the common sense that God gave him.”

* Amany Ali's column was transcribed verbatim from the Sunday Tribune, January 16, 2005.

Is the Monday edition of the Tribune headed for redundancy?

NA Confidential has learned that production workers for the Jeffersonville Evening News and New Albany Tribune recently were told that distribution changes for both newspapers are just around the corner.

These changes would involve dropping the Monday editions of both newspapers, which would publish on Saturday, with the Evening News adding a Sunday edition to the mix.

It has been obvious for some time that the Monday edition of the New Albany Tribune is largely composed the previous week, spiced with sports news and deemed microwavable for Monday delivery.

NA Confidential professes less day-to-day knowledge of the Evening News, preferring to monitor it via the joint website of the two newspapers, both of which are printed at the Evening News’s Jeffersonville plant.

What are the implications for the production people? Advertisers? Are Monday’s news dispatches about to become a niche market for NA Confidential?

We’ll see.

Whither downtown retail - the Tribune views the Downtown Merchant's Association

Today’s Sunday edition of the New Albany Tribune contains much of substance.

In “Merchants looking to improve downtown,” the Tribune’s Kyle Lowry describes the return of the Downtown Merchant’s Association, which a handful of downtown businessmen have revived on a volunteer basis in an effort to explore strategies for “getting people into their shops.”

Although you’d never know it by attending a City Council meeting, Lowry insists that the city of New Albany shows concern for “keeping downtown alive” through its support of the Develop New Albany non-profit organization, which in turn was set up by the Indiana Main Street Program.

According to DNA’s associate director, Jane Alcorn, the organization enhances design, promotes the downtown, retains and recruits businesses and provides economic restructuring.

This is interesting. In terms of the institutional lack of accountability that defines New Albany, it’s worth noting that when Smith’s Furniture and Appliance announced its imminent departure from downtown, a snoozing City Hall hastily tossed the hot potato into DNA’s hands, presumably so the non-profit organization could fall on its sword for failing to “retain” business.

But we digress. Before reminding Lowry that downtown’s decline is the fault of the late and lamented General Eisenhower’s interstate highway system (here’s another news flash: “Man lands on moon”), Alcorn describes DNA’s work as “a slow process … we have to figure out how to repackage downtown.”

The answer is provided by Don Preston, who elsewhere in the article bluntly asserts, “let’s stop kidding ourselves – there’s no reason for general, multi-purpose shopping downtown; it’s mostly for specialty stores.”

NA Confidential couldn’t agree more. Alcorn herself should know it, having manned the sign-in table at last year’s DNA seminar promoting hope for America’s neglected downtown business districts in the form of niche and destination businesses.

And what are these? Simply stated, “they must identify a product or service niche that they can dominate, and they must deliver that product or service better than their competitors.” The result is a business that a consumer will go out of his way to visit.

The entrepreneurs who possess the potential to operate these niche and destination businesses are out there, and in fact NA Confidential has seen them sniffing around downtown New Albany.

To be sure, DNA already hawks the standard package of incentives relating to the Urban Enterprise Zone, but when it comes right down to it, there’s only one activity worth considering when it comes to attracting these entrepreneurs.

City government – City Hall and City Council, planners and zoners, adjuncts like DNA – must publicly resolve that it is an absolute priority to place as many of these entrepreneurs and their destination businesses as possible in what are literally dozens of empty storefronts downtown, recognizing that those owners of downtown buildings who seem to regard it as their fiscal priority not to participate in downtown’s revitalization are in fact behaving in an inescapably anti-social manner, and that they will be dealt with by use of the carrot and the stick to play ball with the rest of us.

Firm in this resolve, city government then must address infrastructure needs, prime among them parking. In addition to the parking garage already in existence and the one planned for Scribner Place, municipal surface parking lots should be developed with the money that Councilman Coffey proposes throwing at New Albany DVD. Two locations exist on either side of Stein Glass, one at Third and Main and the other at Fourth and Main.

If City Hall is unable to contribute anything else to this process, perhaps it would be interested in devoting a share of political capital to something remotely approximating leadership. The idea is to organize different community interests so they’re lifting together, not separately.

Perhaps this wasn’t taught at the Dry Cleaning Academy.

Kyle Lowry’s Tribune article

A brief explanation of niche/destination business

Develop New Albany

Local journalism's circulatory problems continue; first the C-J, now the 'Bune

Our attention turns to this mysterious tip, as received via e-mail this morning:

"Dear NA Confidential,

"I know you open your local paper each Sunday in anticipation of something fine from the pen of Ms. Amany Ali. I know you truly expect to see change each week, but are more often than not disappointed.

"But the first six grafs of Sunday’s exercise are so rich in material that you simply must take your time in responding. We, your faithful readers, will understand if you deliberate. After all, it could be a tongue-in-cheek commentary."

Intrigued and ever eager to oblige, I stepped onto my porch and scanned the steps and sidewalk for the Sunday Tribune, but alas, the newspaper was nowhere to be found.

At 9:00 a.m., I reported this to a helpful woman at the 'Bune's circulation department. She advised me that my "route was down," which I took to be a tacit admission that the delivery boy sniffed way too much glue last evening, and added that a reserve carrier would have my paper delivered within the hour.

It's now almost noon, and ... perhaps echoing our Friday experience with the Louisville Courier-Journal, today's Tribune may well have been delivered to Oldham County.

Please check back later for another installment of "Circulation: Bane of the Elderly and Local Newspapers."

For the record: C-J Kentucky sections in Indiana newspapers

The Courier-Journal's Mike Huot responded promptly to my question:

"Sorry we couldn't deliver you an Indiana edition today. I made the call at 12:38 this morning to send Kentucky editions to your area. We had computer problems and couldn't get the Indiana pages to output. A fix seemed hours away. If we waited for the fix we would have been delivering newspapers late in the morning well after our subscribers left for work. As it was, we finished delivery 55 minutes late in some areas. Again, sorry for the error."

Good news for future Greenway patrons

Today the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Sheldon S. Shafer reports:

“The Kentucky Supreme Court has refused to hear a lawsuit challenging Louisville metro government's right take over the abandoned railroad bridge so it can be converted into a walkway across the Ohio River.”

The positive implications for walking, biking and recreation in general are clear, and when the conversion of the bridge comes to pass and the Greenway is completed, the enhancement of the quality of downtown residential life on both sides of the Ohio stands to provide another tool for neighborhood revitalization.

Ultimately, it is this more than anything else that the urban visionaries like Richard Florida seek to espouse: That people make cities, and where there are better opportunities for the enhancement and improvement of individual human lives, there are better neighborhoods, better economic choices, and better cities.

There are numerous building blocks to achieve progress, and we must look at each to determine its applicability to New Albany’s unique collection of credits and debits.

However, before any of this can be done, there must be a will to achieve, and a belief that we are as capable of good things as any other community.

If you are reading NA Confidential for the first time, be aware that our goal is a community unified in the belief that it can be the best in anything it chooses. Politics that advance this notion will be praised, while politics that remain confined by the discredited tenets of the status quo will be rejected.

NA Confidential is not about personal ambition, it is about collective success in the place we call home.

Read Sheldon Shafer’s full article

Coffey suggests the "Steinbrennering" of Adult DVD; Gulf fishermen ecstatic

City Councilman Dan Coffey has suggested that the city of New Albany negotiate to purchase the building owned and remodeled by Adult DVD, which was barred from opening for business last year by a series of “too little, too late” city maneuvers that were laughed out of court earlier this month.

Following the court decision allowing Adult DVD to open, it was disclosed that the city of New Albany really had chosen to tackle its ongoing sewer problems by throwing vast sums of money at them – in this case, flushing $69,000 down the commode in order to fight Adult DVD, which by all accounts had broken no laws in its quest to operate.

Coffey and others now propose to send hundreds of thousands more to a final resting place in the Gulf of Mexico by paying Adult DVD to go away rather than recognizing that this is one fight the city has lost, period, and that other strategies slightly more clever than spending them into oblivion will have to be devised and pursued if the greater public good is to be served.

If Coffey’s viewpoint prevails and the city buys the building, then a pattern for future extortion will have been established.

Besides, if the city seeks to enter the real estate game full time, perhaps a better use of the money would be buying old commercial buildings from their non-civic-minded owners and leasing space at reasonable terms to entrepreneurs whose activities would improve the overall value of New Albany’s neglected downtown and generate the sort of buzz that would make Adult DVD superfluous.

Yep, it’s the vision thing again … that, and New Albany’s cataracts.

Adult video site aims to open: New Albany looks at its legal options, by Ben Zion Hershberg

On not letting sleeping dogs lie

The nearest Courier-Journal newspaper box is located at 10th and Elm, a half block away from our house.

This morning Diana resolved to read the newspaper, half suspecting that a relevant item featuring her husband might be found in the Indiana section of the C-J.

Upon returning, it was obvious that something had shaken her.

On the route to the paper box, there is a small white rental house that in terms of upkeep leans toward the shabby. In this regard, there’s nothing unusual about it by New Albany’s traditional standards of non-accountability.

It’s largely true, but “New Albany: Absentee Slum Lord Capital of Southern Indiana” just doesn’t have the ring of “Land of 10,000 Lakes” or even “Particle Board Center of the Planet.”

Last year’s residents always kept two scrawny dogs tied to objects beneath a tree in the small front yard, which consequently was composed entirely of mud. The barking of these dogs was a recurring feature of a newspaper jaunt, leading to occasional reconsiderations of why it is that the most dilapidated houses generally have the loudest and most annoying guard dogs.

This particular set of residents disappeared last autumn, and someone new moved in. At first there wasn’t a dog, but according to Diana, now there is, because as she passed the house this morning, the dog began barking.

Returning with newspaper in hand, Diana was treated to the sight of the dog cowering in the presence of a small, sallowed woman who was screaming obscenities at the dog while her two young children looked on.

Disturbed but eager to see the Indiana section of the Courier-Journal, Diana leafed through the newspaper, paused, and announced that the Indiana section was missing.

Sure enough, instead of the Indiana section, which for those unaware of Courier protocol is the section specially composed for Indiana readers, we had received the Kentucky section. The Kentucky section is even less relevant to Indiana readers than the Metro section.

Without further ado, here’s the link to Dale Moss’s column today on the topic of NA Confidential:

New Albany man likes to stir things up: Web site devoted to debates on city, by Dale Moss

The C-J on Smith's Furniture, more "Hope Dreams" from the 'Bune, and Mayor Garner's philosophy of loss

Yesterday the New Albany Tribune belatedly recognized that “Downtown streets need a boost,” and today the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Dick Kaukas picks up on the Smith’s Furniture’s imminent departure:

Smith's Furniture leaving downtown New Albany, by Dick Kaukas

Tribune editorials are not archived on-line, forcing NA Confidential to transcribe them, a task even harder on the untrained fingers when the prose is so consistently forgettable.

Kaukas entertains with this bit of self-evident profundity from James “The Cleaner” Garner, New Albany’s full-time mayor:

"Any business that you lose in your downtown is a loss, especially when you're starting a revitalization program like the Scribner Place project … so, it's a loss."

In order to stress City Hall’s ongoing institutional detachment from the issue, Garner predictably laterals responsibility to the non-profit organization Develop New Albany, which he says has undertaken to locate another furniture retailer for the Smith’s space, thus confirming that thinking outside the “furniture corner” box will not be tolerated at this or any other time.

Business (or in this case, non-business) as usual is perfectly acceptable to Louis Schmitt, president of Schmitt Furniture, who “understands” the decision of Smith’s to leave, but nonetheless is “sorry to see any business leave downtown.”

Schmitt was not asked why his family continues to squat idly while the old Reisz Furniture building on Main Street, which Schmitt owns and uses as a warehouse of sorts, deteriorates.

As for the Tribune editorial, the newspaper’s congenital inferiority complex once again precludes it from seeing any role for itself in downtown revitalization, so instead of cogent analysis, the ‘Bune’s editorialist stresses the forever elusive “hope” over hands-on involvement. It is a strange and contradictory exercise even by the newspaper’s normal standards.

(For more on the Tribune’s hopefulness, read “Hope Dreams,” a previous posting in NA Confidential).

The latest Tribune editorial begins by noting that with Smith’s and M. T. Dearing gone, there are two large vacancies in New Albany’s downtown, “and since the two businesses left because of space constraints and parking issues, city officials will have a hard time finding tenants for the large vacancies.”

With City Hall perpetually AWOL and the ball in DNA’s hands, there’s always Scribner Place: “The YMCA, along with other new development, may bring businesses to the downtown area. At least, that is the hope.”

So … there are new vacancies, but also “new” development? Which is … the Greenway Project? Third Century’s Box Tree bed and breakfast? Ermin’s and its scrumptiously microwavable executive lunch?

Alas, this unrevealed development remains firmly in the Tribune’s preferred comfort zone of “hope,” although as always, concrete plans remain optional, primarily because there are none.

Confusingly, the editorial goes on to concede that “the two buildings will likely remain vacant for some time.”

Having painted this depressingly bleak picture, the mood swings almost pharmaceutically back to optimism: “The downtown area has seen growth and rebirth over the past three years … hopefully, losing Smith’s Furniture will just be a temporary bump in the road.”

Garner, the Tribune, DNA, Louis Schmitt … all of them bring to mind Alice’s conversation with the Cheshire Cat.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where - " said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

" - so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

Develop New Albany's statement to the Floyd County Council

Go immediately to the Destinations Booksellers blog for this scoop:

Develop New Albany's statement to the Floyd County Council

DNA considers Randy Stumler's recent proposal for city and county offices to be made part of the Scribner Place, and finds it promising.

Quid pro quo: Maybe Norfolk Southern won't show for the Greenway meeting in Atlanta

Last week NA Confidential reported on the combative scene at the year's first City Council meeting, focusing on Main Street innkeeper Valla Ann Bolovschak's ongoing campaign to quiet Norfolk Southern's inner city freight trains and her blistering denunciation of New Albany's Mayor James Garner for twice failing to attend meetings with an official of the railroad, who had been persuaded with some difficulty to come to New Albany at Valla Ann's specific request.

Garner's absence remains unexplained, but in colloquial terms, it's known as "standing someone up."

Today, the Louisville Courier-Journal headline reads "Delays in tunnel project could impede Ohio River Greenway plans," and reporter Ben Zion Hershberg reveals that the Norfolk Southern railroad (where have we heard that name?) has not been forthcoming in granting approval for two access tunnels to be constructed beneath the floodwall and under the rail line, thus casting doubt on the scheduled starting time for the proposed New Albany section of the Greenway.

Hershberg quotes Varoujan Hagopian, a Greenway designer: "For about three months we have been trying to get their (the Norfolk Southern's) attention," adding that officials from the railroad finally have agreed to meet Greenway planners next week ... in Atlanta.

A spokesman for the railroad then confides that he's heard something about plans for a Greenway, and hopes to find out what it's all about at the Atlanta meeting.

Coincidence? You be the judge.

Delays in tunnel project could impede Ohio River Greenway plans, by Ben Zion Hershberg

The teacher is captured by the (creative) class

The path we're riding at NA Confidential may first have appeared easily navigable, but like most other forms of human endeavor, seeming simplicity obscures a labyrinth of conjecture and possibility.

Inferring from no other source save my own experience, I insist on believing that an energy born of inner passion is the only necessary precondition for conquering a slice of the world, but at the same time, enthusiasm for the concept of driving a manual transmission does not immediately translate into success in diring the car.

I know this from first-hand experience, having finally learned to drive a stick at the tender age of 42.

A prime fundamental motivation for NA Confidential is an earnest desire to learn more about the tools with which we can transform New Albany, and learning this new, exotic language constitutes hard work, plain and simple.

Consequently, with the kind assistance of a friend who possesses a professional interest in the Louisville economic development community, here are links to a handful of articles on the topic, the first two connecting to the themes espoused by Richard Florida.

I've skimmed them all, and will sit dow to a detailed reading this evening.

THE GREAT CREATIVE CLASS DEBATE: Revenge of the Squelchers
by Richard Florida

THE GREAT CREATIVE CLASS DEBATE CONTINUES:
The Peabody Institute Forum
by Elizabeth Evitts with Introduction by Adam Gordon

Other articles about arts, the economy and innovation:

Arts about more than economy

Artists Good for Business

Getting schooled in innovation

The source for the preceding:
EDPro Weblog: Building communities for tomorrow's economy

Miller's "Air Ball" rims out, but entertaining nonetheless

Louisville attorney J. Bruce Miller has written and published a book entitled Air Ball, which purports to provide an “unvarnished” account of Louisville’s failure to acquire a National Basketball Association franchise and join the ranks of big league sports towns.

Miller believes that his efforts during 1999, 2001 and 2002 came to naught at the hands of Louisville’s ingrained, business-as-usual mentality, and he fears that the experience confirms a fear-laden preference for the lowest common denominator that dooms the city to a “grey twilight” of mediocrity.

Stripped of hyperbole and Miller’s unfortunate tendency to bracket the majority of his assertions with inspirational quotes lifted from the lives of famous, dead white men, his oft-repeated thesis is relatively simple: The presence of an NBA franchise in Louisville would be indicative of the city’s economic power, as well as a precursor to rapidly expanding economic influence, an enhanced quality of life, and a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage (H. Hoover, 1928).

Along the way, some of Miller’s observations curiously echo those of Richard Florida in his Rise of the Creative Class, but not at all because Florida shares Miller’s belief in the transformational economic power of professional basketball.

For instance, explaining why the presence of the University of Louisville’s high-powered NCAA basketball program does not provide a truly big-league option for the city’s new youthful professionals, Miller notes that the sports loyalties of these productive young business people, who are accustomed to moving from city to city, tend more towards the cosmopolitan NBA than to the regionally embedded rooting interests of university teams.

Certainly Florida would respond that the members of his “creative class” aren’t interested in being spectators and would prefer the availability of Louisville’s Extreme Sports park (itself brought about by one of Miller’s villains, former mayor Dave Armstrong).

While differences in perspective are a given coming from two figures who are poles apart in methodology and intent, it should be noted that both Miller and Florida are attempting to analyze the behavioral interests of a certain socio-economic demographic, with a goal of understanding what appeals to it, and further predicating that a city providing a quantifiable piece of that appeal stands to advance economically.

It's the money, stupid.

Apart from a handful of brief forays into such matters, Miller remains focused on money throughout Air Ball. He is especially fond of reminding the reader that the combined economic weight of the NBA’s member cities comprises the world’s second-largest economy.

Of course, the same might be said of cities hosting pro baseball or football teams, but Miller is forced to sidestep such comparisons by conceding the fatally close territorial proximity of the Cincinnati Reds (in baseball) and an analogous regional concentration of football teams in Cincinnati, Nashville and Indianapolis.

The fundamental reason for Miller’s exclusive focus on basketball as Louisville’s potential economic meta-generator is that it’s his longtime favorite sport, and the venerated, quasi-religious, obsessive gaming choice of Kentuckiana.

Therein lies the mythic applicability of basketball, but to Miller, the pre-basketball history of Kentucky sets the table for the subsequent role of basketball in the Commonwealth. Accordingly, he begins his story by delving into this history.

Enter the Baron.

We must recall that in Dino, Nick Tosches’s brilliant biography of Dean Martin, Tosches proposes to explain the whole of the 20th-century American experience through the tale of the fabled entertainer – and succeeds.

Likewise, but somewhat less successfully, Miller purports to discover all there is to know about Kentucky through the life and career of Adolph Rupp, the Baron, high priest of the basketball religion, who for better and worse defined the University of Kentucky’s basketball program for generations, and was lionized for his efforts by generations of rural squirrel brain eaters who lacked any better bet for a rooting interest in desperate, impoverished lives.

In Miller’s view, this adoration of Ruppian basketball prowess came to serve as the attainable substitute for mundane matters – better education, economic development and cultural advancement – that throughout Kentucky’s history have been neglected to the detriment of the state as a whole.

Significantly, the city of Louisville traditionally stood somewhat outside such futile trends by virtue of its position as a river port, as home to immigrants, and its subsequent industrialization patterns. Louisville became Kentucky’s economic, social and cultural engine – and, predictably, a favorite target for the state’s impoverished, disaffected rural cadres.

According to Miller, Adolph Rupp’s symbiotic identification with Kentucky’s anti-intellectual rural ethos forged a symbolic importance that came to extend far beyond basketball, manifesting the characteristics of an evangelical religion, with Rupp as avatar of a philosophy and worldview identified as Kentuckyism – one viewed by the born and bred Louisvillian Miller as a dangerous and detrimental malady.

It is an envious illness that espouses a spiteful predisposition to detest the city and all things urban, opting instead for a mystical appreciation of the “us against them” virtues of Ruppian struggle – contempt for the outside world, skepticism of education, reliance on one’s own Sisyphusian hard work, and the ceaseless repetition of the virtuous but largely meaningless mantras of sports.

Rupp and the yokels ruled for decades, but with the Baron growing older and the flood of the 1960’s-era social upheaval lapping against the boundaries of the Commonwealth, cracks in the façade of anti-urban sentiment begin to appear, not least among them the racial integration of college sports in the Old South … and then, with Rupp’s carefully structured Old World Order springing leaks throughout, the unthinkable occurred.

Integrated pro basketball came to Louisville, not as member of the NBA, but in the form of the Kentucky Colonels of the insurgent American Basketball Association, formed to break the NBA’s monopoly on the professional game.

The arrival of the Colonels was made possible largely through the enthusiasm and hard work of an inaugural generation of young, wealthy, forward-thinking Louisvillians, including Miller himself, future governor John Y. Brown and the founders of what became the Humana health care empire.

Forcibly retired by the university, even Rupp briefly accepted employment with the Colonels as a front man of sorts (and, if we are to believe Miller, mellowing considerably prior to his death). By the attendance and fan support standards of the day, the ABA’s brand of pro basketball succeeded in Louisville, supposedly marking the city as ready for the NBA’s prime time, but when the league unraveled in 1976, a series of unfortunate circumstances conspired to deprive the Colonels of a rightful spot in the professional ranks.

Louisville’s exclusion from the “expansion” settlement set the stage for an inaugural, failed attempt in the late 1970’s to lure Buffalo’s team to Louisville, after which Miller bowed out of the NBA chase and concentrated on building his law firm, remarrying, and enjoying the obvious attributes of life in Louisville.

But he still felt the itch, and by virtue of his clients and friendships in the sporting world, closely followed events and trends.

A stopped clock again strikes.

By the late 1990’s, pro basketball was two decades dormant in Louisville, but the game in general and the NBA in particular had enjoyed transcendent success since the forgotten 1970’s milieu of the Colonels. Dr. Naismith’s game experienced an unprecedented growth spurt, gaining popularity second only to soccer throughout the world.

As the millennium approached, Kentucky-style basketball fervor gripped the planet, and having surveyed the local market and found it ready, Miller determined to act upon opportunities to transfer an existing NBA team to Louisville.

The contemporary odyssey thus began.

Miller located strategic allies in the political realm (the Governor and selected Aldermen) and the corridors of corporate Louisville – the natural habitat of a successful lawyer.

Tricon (now the atrociously re-named Yum! Brands) signed on for arena naming rights. Miller targeted a new, rising generation of progressive Louisvillians involved with mid-sized businesses (typified by Todd Blue), enlisted the editorial support of the Courier-Journal, and cast himself in the leadership role of elder statesman.

Over a three-year period, successive bids for the Houston Rockets, Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets were mounted by Miller’s “Pursuit Team.”

It seemed that momentum was gained with each effort, but in the end, all three failed. In Miller’s eyes, his quest was defeated by a coalition of anti-progressive Ruppians, the bizarrely apathetic and detached Mayor Dave, grandstanding small-pond politicos, the egotistical self-absorption of Tom Jurich, Rick Pitino and the University of Louisville, and unexpected poison-pen vitriol by the former Miller family confidant, sportswriter Billy Reed.

For Miller, the result was a colossal missed opportunity to elevate Louisville by providing a state-of-the-art downtown arena suitable not just for the NBA but also for concerts and conventions, and at favorable economic terms for the city; to implement the tax-base-expansive ripple effect of the NBA; and to reward the young business professionals who stood the most to benefit from Louisville’s place on a bigger stage.

Worst of all to Miller, the debacle brought unmitigated embarrassment to the city of Louisville, which yet again had flaunted its regressive dirty laundry for all the world to see and refused, kicking and screaming, to be dragged into the 21st century.

Making sense of Miller?

What are we to say about a book that chronicles the pursuit of an NBA franchise, yet is dedicated …

" … to the many who dared mighty things with no fear of the unknown, and were willing to embrace life’s inexorable change, all the while refusing to take rank with those timid souls who daily exist in the grey twilight, never experiencing either victory or defeat and who thrive in the warmth of mediocrity’s comfort zone that’s found in the middle of the herd. They are the Champions."

Alas, it is a limited sampling of champions, indeed.

Implicit in Air Ball is Miller’s assumption that his quest to bag an NBA franchise is gratefully supported by Louisville’s rank and file, and yet he fails to document any groundswell of support by the timid souls in the zone of mediocrity who quite frankly would be the ones expected to buy the majority of the seats to the tune of 15,000 paid attendance per home game.

The admittedly gripping tale of Miller’s “Pursuit Team” with its deadlines and sleepless nights seems tantamount to V. I. Lenin’s small, dedicated group of Bolshevik revolutionaries; neither Lenin nor Miller provides evidence of a mass movement, instead expressing confidence that they’re doing the right thing according to ineffable laws of economic determinism and a fast-paced running game.

The people will catch up later ... or else.

The reader is left with no doubt whatsoever that Miller knows everyone there is to know and dozens of others not worth the effort to meet, but his paeans to the otherworldly skills of fellow lawyers again point to a degree of detachment from real life on the ground.

Numerous times Miller remarks that an attorney or business chieftain would be as comfortable in a corner bar as a corporate boardroom, but none of them ever risk a trip back to Schnitzelburg for the working man’s beer. However, several corks are popped on bottles of Opus One wine, which is a brand you'll not find at Flabby's.

Is this leadership?

Miller thinks so, and it probably is in the limited sense that he works tirelessly within his socio-economic peer group to convince a sufficient number of fellow economic elites that they should spend a great deal of money to help another businessman come to town and seek major profits – and, to corral politicians to float bonds for an arena as part of the ride.

Certainly there would be a positive economic ripple effect from the presence of an NBA team, but the extent of this benefit has by no means been established by any study of which I’m aware. If it had, these opportunities would be as easy to diagram as a clean pick and roll. It hasn’t, so Miller sticks with the only play he has bothered to put on the chalkboard: Cities with NBA teams have strong economies, therefore, strong economies must have NBA teams.

Does Louisville need a state-of-the-art downtown arena? Absolutely. Perhaps the single most compelling statistic quoted by Miller in Air Ball is his reference to the outdated Freedom Hall’s abysmal ranking on the chart of top moneymaking arenas nationwide, which reflects the fact that major musical production (to name just one) do not come to Louisville. A downtown arena would boost convention traffic, host big-time shows, and serve as the lure for the NBA.

I commend Miller for his diagnosis of the Louisville area’s congenital backwardness, but in the end, his prescription of professional basketball as an economic cure-all simply doesn’t hold Gatorade.

I forgive Miller for erring because I appreciate his nobility of eccentricity, and because I understand that passion for things like basketball can do that to a man.

The Louisville metropolitan area needs many improvements, but as much as it hurts me to say it, NBA basketball isn’t one of them, at least not at this time, and I say this as a fervent fan of the league. The package of social, economic and cultural pre-conditions that interest us are bottom-up instigators of change, not top-down renderings of the Roman bread and circus.

Remember: J. Bruce Miller will be appearing at Destinations Booksellers on January 20.

Read Rick Bozich's story on Miller's book ...
http://www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/news2004/09/30/C1-boz0930-5413.html

All Chris is saying, is give James a chance

It may have taken far more time than necessary, but hitherto unpredicted planetary realignment has produced two unexpected bonuses for New Albany.

The sun is out for the very first time in 2005, and the New Albany Tribune’s managing editor, Chris Morris, has editorialized about something more important than sports.

I’m ecstatically happy about both events, and shortly will adjourn to the great outdoors to enjoy a bicycle ride.

Before that, let’s consider Chris’s viewpoint. He asks: “So you want to be mayor?”, and answers: “You’d better think again.”

Chris begins by expressing surprise at the “pounding” being absorbed by New Albany’s first-term mayor, James Garner, noting that the current mayor’s “every move … has been scrutinized.”

In an effort to understand why, Chris observes that Garner has committed “public relations mistakes,” which include “the ongoing mess with the building commissioner … (incurred) early on … (and a) problem (that) should have probably been dealt with sooner than it was.”

Compounding his first public relations mistake, Garner subsequently “demoted housing inspector Steve Broadus to part-time.” Later, Broadus’s firing from his job of 18 years “caused a huge uproar among some elected officials and others in the community.”

Chris asks: “Was it (the furor) justified? That was up to the mayor to decide. I don’t know enough about the situation to know whether it was or wasn’t. I just know it caused a public relations nightmare.”

But that’s not all. Mayor Garner’s “third problem is with the City Council,” where he has “only a few allies” in spite of the council being 8/9 Democrat, and where disagreements “have become personal.”

Chris Morris’s verdict is in keeping with his genuinely good-natured demeanor and unwillingness to offend:

“There is no way you can judge this mayor, or any public official, in one year.”

Mayor Garner, who has a “good heart,” will grow and become a “better administrator.” He has “the knowledge and he has the hometown roots. He knows how special New Albany is, and can be.”

Furthermore, politicians who are so eager “to jump on him for every little thing” should “look in the mirror and ask themselves if their actions are to make New Albany better, or to make James Garner look bad.”

The City Council needs to understand that “they are working for us, the citizens.”

In short: “Give him a chance.”

NA Confidential is glad that Chris Morris has contributed to the dialogue with respect to New Albany’s widening political impasse.

But one passage bears repeating:

“Was it (the furor) justified? That was up to the mayor to decide. I don’t know enough about the situation to know whether it was or wasn’t. I just know it caused a public relations nightmare.”

NA Confidential pleads with the Tribune’s Chris Morris to see the self-incriminating incongruity in the preceding.

It is one thing for an ordinary citizen to be unaware of the motivations and justifications underlying the actions of public officials who, by Chris’s own admission, work not for themselves, but for the citizen.

Regrettably, it is something else entirely for the managing editor of a newspaper to cite ignorance in such matters, because the very concept of a newspaper in our society is to find out why the situation occurred and to inform the citizens of the motivations and justifications.

In essence, the only job of a newspaper is to know, and for Chris to concede that he doesn’t know is for Chris to concede that the newspaper he manages has not done its job.

Perhaps a City Editor less concerned with being liked and more prepared to ask questions would provide a start.

Beyond that, Chris fairly opines that James Garner has three years remaining for the conversion of second chance opportunities, and to show that he “was a good mayor.”

The central question remains whether New Albany can afford three more years of botched first opportunities, not in the dire sense that the city won’t survive 36 more months of its decades-long torpor, but that the continued forfeiture of promising starting points on account of an administrative learning curve that shows no immediate signs of shortening exponentially impedes progress that we absolutely must make to improve the quality of life in the city.

The best current example of this is the mayor’s pouting, ham-fisted stubbornness on the topic of ordinance enforcement, which if aggressively implemented will provide a tool for existing neighborhood groups to initiate the transformation of New Albany’s housing stock from slumlord haven into potential lure for the type of tax-base-expanding residents we need.

NA Confidential might suggest that the sum of Garner’s “leadership” on the matter of ordinance enforcement would fit comfortably in one corner of a thimble, but there’s little to be gained from unfairly associating the thimble with the dribble.

Ironically, had Chris attended the last City Council meeting, he would have seen members of the public reminding Garner that the mayor works for the citizens, not for himself. Apparently there are members of the community who recognize that there comes a time when seemingly random “public relations mistakes” begin to suggest a pattern, one that goes beyond what Chris correctly identifies as “personal” disputes with city councilmen, to obvious defects of logistical mechanics and conceptual aptitude.

Consequently, NA Confidential challenges Chris and the Tribune to examine relevant premises.

Does the position of mayor exclusively revolve around efficiently administering services like garbage pick-up, or is there a grander element to the job, one that surpasses pandering and instead embraces creativity, vision, and the manner of leadership that elevates, not just maintains?

Aren’t the latter qualities those that preface progress, widen the tax base, increase prosperity, and make life better for all of us?

How many years must we wait for it?

Chris, tell me: How long before we move forward in New Albany? The bus isn't going to drive itself, is it?

Chris Morris’s editorial today is a welcome sign that the Tribune has taken notice.

However, we must reserve judgment until the newspaper displays evidence of sustained involvement and not the shorter attention span for which it so often is prone.

Political partisanship mostly unwelcome here

Frequent visitor Brandon W. Smith insightfully noted:

On a more related note, what's wrong with quoting Republicans? I don't see where either party has cornered the market on political wisdom or folly. At our local level, it doesn't seem that party affiliation makes much difference in policy. In fact, even HAVING a policy would be a major improvement.

As usual, Brandon is quite correct in his analysis.

Indeed, local politicos fall into one of two classifications: They're part of the problem, or part of the solution.

Whether they are Democrats or Republicans seems the very height of irrelevance.

At the same time, confusion has been engendered by NA Confidential's ongoing critique of the Garner administration, with some readers imagining a dimension of partisanship creeping into the proceedings.

In the political sense, this is not the case. When it comes to local politics, NA Confidential espouses a strict meritocracy, with judgements based entirely on achievement and progress for the city of New Albany.

There'll be hits and misses here, but party affiliation won't figure into the equation. Brandon is right: What we need is talent, inspiration, vision, intelligence and leadership that is pro-active, not reactive.

What we have is very, lamentably, embarrassingly different. But as Bluegill pointed out, this is largely a reflection of the low common denominator that characterizes what passes for discourse in New Albany. To be sure, raising that bar is going to be a long, arduous struggle, and political dysfunction is only one of many roadblocks along the way.

I remain committed to making the effort. Thanks as always to Brandon for his input.

To save downtown New Albany, we must "educate the ignorant" and "shame the stupid"

The following comments are being reprinted without the permission of the writers, one of whom I know.

First, Randy Smith of Destinations Booksellers, who has launched a second Blog (http://volunteerhoosier.blogspot.com/), explains the Blog's purpose. His query is answered by "Bluegill."

Randy Smith: Winter 2005: New Visions for Downtown New Albany

I'm creating this thread to facilitate comments for Destinations Booksellers' quarterly Public Affairs Seminar, tentatively scheduled for March 2, 2005. We will assemble a panel of local residents to discuss new visions for the future of downtown New Albany.

Over the next two months, I invite you to post your questions and comments to be raised at this moderated discussion.

To get the discussion off the ground, here is a topical question:What, if anything, should be done by our public officials to rejuvenate the downtown district?

"Bluegill" responds with a scathing indictment of New Albany's cherished backwardness:

"Bluegill": I'd suggest re-education camps for wayward real estate professionals.

My wife and I have been looking for residential property in the area lately and have spoken to several realtors and property owners. We're interested in both historic homes and/or the possibility of loft style live/work space. Save the local bookseller and neighborhood association, nary a soul has mentioned the possibility of further local development, the containment of urban sprawl, historic preservation, or the benefits of living in a diverse, walkable community. I've ended up doing more of a sales pitch than the people trying to sell me property, often getting incredulous looks and "well, maybe" in response.

Commercial property seems to be no better. Having lived in Denver as a member of the creative class and survived a portion of that city's momentous population growth, I can tell you that dropped ceilings and Berber carpet aren't what those folks are looking for. I worked for an internet company in a former warehouse with brick walls, high ceilings and the original wood floors. It was simply one big room and we required no remodeling other than updated electric and HVAC systems and a couple of restrooms.

Even a casual perusal of other successful economic revitalizations via "weirdness" throughout the past 50 years shows that it's the big, raw, multi-function spaces that appeal to creatives, not having somebody else's gelded idea of "attractive" forced upon them.

Most commercial property speculators in NA seem to be focused on spending a great a deal of money and effort on the ruination of those qualities. The result is that the property owner ends up with a huge investment in something that they've actively made less attractive to the very demographic most likely to be interested in the space. Why would a young company want to buy a building only to turn around and spend a third of the purchase price again to un-renovate it?

The point is that Garner and his bunch, as sad as they are, are merely representative of the general prevailing attitude. Government is a symptom, not the disease. When the real estate pros and government officials with the largest economic interest in downtown development live in bland suburban McMansions and shop at Wal-Mart, I don't think it wise to expect them to articulate or enthusiastically support a progressive plan for the area. They clearly don't get it. It's the equivalent of voting for a Republican or Democrat and expecting radical change.

You can bet, though, after others- such as the few commendable souls who organize, blog, and otherwise educate the ignorant and shame the stupid out of concern for the downtown area- do the dirty work, they'll swoop like the opportunistic vultures they are and claim as much profit and credit as possible.

When that day comes, and I believe it will, I just hope I live close enough to walk to the picket line at Starbucks.

A cold day in Hell when NA Confidential quotes a Republican, but ...

Following her loss to Democrat James Garner in the 2003 mayoral election, Republican Regina Overton had this to say:

"I don't think we could have done anything differently. The city is going to be the major loser in this."

The Tribune's take on New Albany's Super Wednesday Vaudeville Show

With a timeliness and vigor entirely uncharacteristic of the New Albany Tribune, Thursday articles already are posted on the newspaper’s web site.

The Tribune’s City Editor Amany Ali authors pieces on last night’s uproarious City Council meeting as well as yesterday’s important Adult DVD court decision.

Both articles are well-reported. Score two for Ali.

In particular, Ali provides this wonderful quote from Mayor James Garner on the topic of innkeeper Valla Ann Bolovschak’s blistering denunciation of Garner’s error-ridden administration:

"The only reason she could have an ax to grind is because my (dry cleaning) business has dealings with the owners of a competitive bed and breakfast of hers."

Like Pinocchio’s phallic nose, Mayor Garner’s innate disingenuousness becomes ever more prominent.

Ali Adult DVD report yields something not reported by the Courier-Journal’s Ben Zion Hershberg: Not satisfied with the $69,000 already poured down the drain by the city, Councilman Dan Coffey has advocated a war chest of up to $100,000 to help protect the city from Adult DVD.

Considering the many tangible benefits this money could bring to the city of New Albany, it’s obvious that neither the administration nor Coffey have a clue in this matter.

Gentlemen, can one of you contribute something of genuine merit to the notion of vision for New Albany's future? If not, would you mind terribly just going away and making room for someone who can?

Amany Ali on the meeting:
http://www.news-tribune.net/articles/2005/01/06/news/new_albany_tribune/news08.txt

Amany Ali on the Adult DVD ruling:http://www.news-tribune.net/articles/2005/01/06/news/new_albany_tribune/news07.txt

Council follies on Wednesday, Part 2: Valla Ann unleashes the “R” word

Drop caps were the order of the evening when New Albany’s City Council met for the first time in 2005. Numerous members of the public in attendance wore green stickers stating “Shame on G.”

These sentiments are not to be confused with the rock group Deep Purple’s 1975 composition entitled “Owed to G,” which denoted organist Jon Lord’s homage to composer George Gershwin.

Other slogans come into mind:

On the whistle-blower Steve Broadus: “Free the New Albany One.”

For Mayor Garner’s next (?) campaign: “James Garner: Leadership Only As A Last Resort.”

On the Mayor’s leaden foot-dragging with respect to ordinance enforcement: “Last Person to Leave New Albany, Please Turn Out the Pilot (less) Light.”

And so on.

The first member of the public to speak was Valla Ann Bolovschak, owner of the refurbished Admiral Bicknell Inn bed & breakfast on Main Street. Valla Ann has spent the past year crusading on behalf of quieting the freight trains that rumble through the center of historic New Albany, a task requiring the cooperation not just of New Albany’s city officials (to adjust a crossing point and close an adjacent street to through traffic), but of Norfolk-Southern itself – and the concept of recalcitrant bureaucratic arrogance long since has been elevated to an art form by these particular Iron Horsemen and their brethren.

Picking up steam, Valla Ann proceeded to accuse Mayor Garner of twice failing to attend meetings that she had painstakingly organized for the purpose of achieving her campaign, and as the Mayor squirmed red-faced in the rear, she wheeled, pointed a finger at him and (as quoted by the Courier-Journal’s ever intrepid Ben Zion Hershberg) said, “Jimmy, you work for me. If we were the boss, we'd be firing you."

Panic-stricken, the Council’s spanking new President, Jeff Gahan, tentatively banged his gavel and advised Valla Ann in his best parent-to-child tone that she was being rude. Valla Ann then made a graceful, stage-managed exit into the arms of her beau as applause broke out and Diana and I laughed uncontrollably from our cheap seats in the rear.

But before departing, Valla Ann lobbed a verbal grenade into the crowd, publicly uttering the dreaded “R” word: Recall. She asked: What are the procedures in Indiana for mayoral recall?

She sounded serious, and if I were a betting man, I’d put a few bucks down that her agents soon will be examining the statute books with a magnifying glass.

All the while, Mayor Garner kept his head low and rehearsed his notes for later:

All critics are misinformed malcontents … criticism is not warranted … we’re doing a great job … the only mistake I’ve made is being naïve about the fanaticism of my enemies … I’m doing a great job – just look at the price of this suit – New Albanians want their mayor to be well dressed.

And so on.

Moments later frequent commentator David Huckleberry strode to the speaker’s area and proved that earnestness need not be displayed sans good humor, remarking that there’s no way he would ever run for public office and be forced to face people like himself spouting off at public meetings.

Only when Greg Roberts of the East Spring Street Neighborhood Association insisted that the Council explain the status of the ordinance enforcement measure was it revealed that the Mayor had refused to sign it. Subsequently, the meeting ground to an indecisive conclusion, with all items of substance deferred until next time.

As though predestined, the evening did not pass without a surreal coda. At the end of the meeting, five of us responded to councilman Dan Coffey’s insistence by driving to his antique auction barn on Main Street and submitting to a strange but interesting guided tour that revealed a very different side of the man than that customarily shown in his public and political capacity.

I wonder what that was about?

The Courier-Journal’s Ben Zion Hershberg covers the City Council meeting:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2005/01/06in/B1-alb0106-5112.html

Valla Ann’s bed and breakfast:
http://www.admiralbicknell.com/

City Hall's $69,000 question: Does Kevlar protect the wearer from self-inflicted wounds?

Loyal NA Confidential readers will recall my brief conversation with New Albany City Attorney Shane Gibson, who laughed off my question as to the future of civil liberties in New Albany given the city’s efforts to prevent New Albany DVD (adult video) from opening for business on West Main Street.

In the wake of yesterday’s ruling by a U.S. District Judge that the city “erred in attempting to regulate New Albany DVD through a zoning ordinance that is too broad,” it emerges that we have spent $69,000 to date in the struggle to keep New Albany morally clean.

I repeat: $69,000.

At the same time, Mayor James Garner’s pathological obstructionism has exacerbated a yearlong territorial pissing match with the City Council, resulting in a pocket veto of the council’s efforts to enact an ordinance enforcement position.

Among the reasons cited by the Mayor for his stubbornness on the ordinance enforcement debate (beyond the obvious – that it wasn’t his idea) is his insistence that the part-time attorney Gibson will have too little time to handle the flood of complaints that will ensue when at long last city residents are forced at the point of financial loss to observe ordinances that have been on the books for years, and that would make the city far cleaner in the physical sense, perhaps leading in part to a rejuvenation that would make concerns about adult DVDs superfluous.

Which begs the question: Who is dirtier - an adult bookstore customer, the owner of a junked automobile on the street, or a supporter of the Mayor who owns a building downtown but won't use it in a way compatible with the public good?

But I digress. To repeat: $69,000 to wage war against civil liberties.

On the evening of January 5, an entire City Council meeting passed without mention of Smith Furniture’s forthcoming departure from downtown New Albany, or Randy Stumler’s recent Tribune op-ed piece suggesting that the scope of Scribner Place be broadened to include a new City-County office building (to name just two issues of potential significance).

Instead, New Albany citizens in attendance earnestly went to the lectern one by one, united in annoyance with Mayor Garner’s bizarre and unsupportable detachment from the issues that concern them: Ordinance enforcement, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey hiring practices, and thinly-veiled vendettas against whistle-blowing city employees ... to name just three.

Depressingly, City Hall already has begun to circle the wagons in preparation for what may be a protracted legal struggle with the demoted and ultimately deposed building inspector and whistle-blower Steve Broadus, a campaign the stands to further deplete coffers that already are symbolized by an image in the mind’s eye of the Mayor, pockets turned out, standing in front of a vacant downtown building owned by an upstanding local family with a jagged cardboard sign hand-lettered in crayon that reads “will doo know werk for somethin.”

And yet, in the midst of this ongoing chaos, the city of New Albany has the princely sum of $69,000 to flush on a rear-guard legal action necessitated by the city’s unpreparedness with respect to the same federal judge’s assertion that there is indeed a right to regulate adult businesses – just not the ex post facto, shoddily written variety predictably chosen by City Hall.

To attend a City Council meeting in New Albany is to observe a steadily growing disconnect between City Hall's opinion of its own public relations abilities and its actual performance when the red light come on.

Mayor Garner generally floats through the council proceedings like a discombobulated pixie on Zoloft, huddling theatrically with his team, forever oblivious to those members of the public who desperately seek to gain his attention to make a point that might well become the central theme of growing opposition to his shambolic tenure:

Mister Mayor, at some point in four years, something that remotely resembles vision and leadership absolutely must emanate from your immediate vicinity, or else you will not deserve the respect you incessantly demand, because respect derives from accomplishment, not the bathroom mirror.

It goes without saying that Garner will not deserve re-election.

Puzzlingly, the administrative firm of Garner, Gibson & Toran seems to fancy itself as master of political form over intellectual substance, and yet when tested (as last evening), it invariably emerges in a confused, unfavorable light when compared to a fractious City Council that itself does not bring to mind blissful visions of tulip tiptoeing.

At a crucial juncture in the city’s history, our helm is being manned by an empty suit.

If anyone can explain to me how this epic underachievement somehow constitutes a “different kind of Mayor,” I will buy you a beer.

But honestly, I think my money’s safe.

We do deserve better … don’t we?

----------------

Ben Zion Hershberg’s Courier-Journal article (New Albany DVD ruling) of January 6, 2005:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2005/01/06in/A1-dvd0106-8095.html

Public Radio's Weston under fire as saints continue marching in

From the realm of the pleasantly unexpected comes news that the board of directors of Louisville’s Public Radio Partnership will “meet today to consider replacing longtime president Gerry Weston, who oversees Louisville's three public FM radio stations.”

NA Confidential shall make no attempt to be impartial in this matter, as it regards Weston, the architect of midday jazz’s removal from WFPK-91.9 one year ago, as Jazz-Killing Gerry, vicarious and untrustworthy besmircher of the memory of the legendary Phil Bailey, and persona non grata in the admittedly more limited sense of potential visitors to the public house.

Or, as the proverb goes, he who spits on the grave of an icon may someday experience dancing on his own.

For a few year-old thoughts on Jazz-Killing Gerry:
http://rescuejazz.blogspot.com/

Sheldon S. Shafer’s Courier-Journal article of January 6, 2005:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2005/01/06ky/B1-weston01060-5385.html

Council follies on Wednesday, Part I

The first City Council meeting of 2005 has ended, and although I'll have more to say about it later, here's one thought.

It has become increasingly obvious that there is a Grand Canyon-sized disconnect between City Hall's opinion of its own public relations abilities and actual real time performance. The team of Garner, Gibson & Toran seems to fancy itself as masters of political form over substance, and yet when tested (as tonight) invariably emerges unfavorably compared with an otherwise factional council.

The question is, why? And: Is this the best we have to offer?

Mayor Garner's "State of the Garner" address

New Albany’s Mayor James Garner doesn’t strike one as the type to use multi-syllabic words, but after reading Courier-Journal reporter Ben Zion Hershberg’s January 3 piece on Garner’s first year in office, one of those $10 spelling bee bafflers lodged in my brain:

Disingenuous: Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating; pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated.

In typically efficient fashion, the C-J's Hershberg provides numerous nuggets for reflection.

Mayor Garner on his problems with the City Council, specifically Larry Kochert’s opposition to many of Garner's positions:

“I don't know what it is."

(NA Confidential: Might it be an almost pathological ineptitude in making political patronage appointments, then haughty stubbornness when confronted with these mistakes?)

Garner on whether he had made any mistakes during his first year in office:

"Not seeing the negativity of politics, not having the realization politics can be downright dirty — that was a huge mistake."

(NAC: No other mistakes, all year long? This puts New Albany’s elected leader in a class with George W. Bush, although as Republicans are quick to point out, flawlessness is not a trait compatible with Democratic party affiliation.)

Garner on his resolve to move forward:

"I do my job.”

(NAC: But not without seeking new and creative ways to enhance remuneration – see Board, Sewer: Pay Scale.)

Others interviewed by Hershberg for the article are fortunate to have feet located somewhat closer to the ground.

Larry Kochert, council member, on Garner’s resume:

"I think he was only on the (city) council four years … didn't have anything under his belt and didn't have the knowledge."

Warren Nash, ex-mayor and Democratic Party chairman, on political reality:

"You have to get along with your council, or you will have a miserable four years."

Lewis Upton Pry, president of the Building Commission, on Garner’s obvious mistakes:

"I think he has not had enough experience in negotiating and handling the inside policies and procedures … I think he needs to step back and mend some fences."

Predictably, Garner expresses satisfaction with his first year in office, citing two projects (Budd Road sports complex and Grant Line Road high tech park) far removed from the city’s chronically neglected city center as justification.

Hershberg closes the article with a vintage Garnerism that perfectly summarizes the innate arrogance with which an obviously overmatched public official greets each day, envisioning thousands of cheering supporters, and only grudgingly conceding the need to recognize the precious few who might dare to disagree:

"Something I had to learn (is) no matter how good a decision I think it is and no matter how many thousands of people agree, there always are people with the opposite opinion, and they have the right to voice it."

Folks, the depths are being plumbed. This is the same Mayor James Garner who I saw turning his nattily attired back on a City Council meeting room filled with supporters of deposed building inspector Steve Broadus, refusing to acknowledge their existence, refusing the opportunity thus afforded to listen to them “voice it,” and before and after the evening in question, refusing to acknowledge the right of anyone to question his personnel decisions.

I realize that in the Book of Scribner, the lunchtime crowd at the South Side look into their plates of starch 'n' gravy and foresee a prophet coming down to New Albania from the heights of Silver Hills ... but what I'm foreseeing is much closer in characterization to Gogol's "The Government Inspector."

Hershberg’s full article:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2005/01/03in/A1-garner0103-8086.html

Moser Tannery roof collapse

Al Goodman’s effort to rejuvenate the old Moser Tannery complex has taken a severe hit from the forces of nature (and perhaps the fire department, albeit unintentionally).

Part of the tannery building’s roof has collapsed, destroying the incredible tanning pits inside that might have formed the core of Goodman’s envisioned tanning museum.

The roof may have been weakened by our recent snow and ice accumulation, and further water damage incurred when the fire department put out a small blaze in the complex may have inadvertently hastened the effects of gravity, leading to the collapse.

The Courier Journal has the full story:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2005/01/04in/B2-tan0104-3771.html

Previous C-J article on Goodman's vision, by Ben Zion Hershberg:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/06/28in/B1-tan0628-7262.html

Goodman's wetlands project:
http://www.loopislandwetlands.com/

Hope Dreams: The Tribune's Chris Morris looks ahead to 2005

He that lives upon hope will die fasting.
~Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack

A few days back, didn’t I select as column title a famous line from Tin Pan Alley: “Just keep wishing … and cares will go,” as performed by vocalist Skinnay Ennis and the Hal Kemp Orchestra?

Now I'm struggling not to repeat myself.

In the New Albany Tribune of Sunday, January 2, Managing Editor Chris Morris occupies the editorialist’s chair, displacing the generic offerings from other newspapers in the chain that are reprinted at least thrice weekly, and resolves to look “ahead to the new year.”

Chris begins by conceding that he isn’t inclined to write about issues if he doesn’t have deep feelings about them, identifying public education, class basketball and local politics as three of the items most likely to cause him to “talk your ear off.” Surprisingly, Chris then proceeds to eschew sports entirely in a discussion of his hopes for the New Year.

He hopes Democrats and Republicans cooperate in Washington.

He wishes the best of luck to Mike Sodrel, commending his qualifications as a “straight shooter” who lives right here in New Albany.

He hopes Mayor James Garner finally picks a qualified building commissioner and laments opposition to the mayor from the City Council.

He reiterates his view of Scribner Place as “win-win” situation and hopes construction begins soon.

He hopes that a developer will do something with the soon-to-be-vacant Smith Furniture building.

After reading Chris’s list, I found myself hoping for something, too.

I hope that Chris someday realizes that as managing editor of a local newspaper, he has at least some degree of power to lead the transformation of hope into reality.

I hope he eventually sees that the Tribune can help define and articulate these issues, guiding the local dialogue rather than following it.

I hope he grasps that the newspaper must take itself seriously and aspire to a form of journalism that exceeds and leads local standards rather than struggles to barely attain them.

I hope he comes to understand that first and foremost, the Tribune must desire intellectual fitness in the same way that an athlete desires physical fitness, and must develop and sustain intellectual vigor by a desire to be the best.

Perhaps it is true that to some degree, we all are held captive by our limitations, but as human beings, we have the tools to analyze our deficiencies and to at least make the attempt to rectify them.

I challenge Chris Morris to try - just try - to transform the Tribune from an institution that meekly accepts the status quo to one that exemplifies rejuvenation and can serve as a symbol for progress in New Albany.

Just try. That's my hope.

A brief discussion of Richard Florida's thesis on the "creative class" as it relates to the Louisville metro area

The fascinating discussion that follows is reprinted from the Louisville Restaurant Forum, and in my view is indicative of the best that the Internet can be.

"TP" and "M" are responding to my cross-posting of December 28th, in which I provided a possible answer to the question of why fine dining isn't available in certain Louisville-area neighborhoods (New Albany in particular) by applying selected themes found in Richard Florida's "Rise of the Creative Class."

Folks, this is a clinic conducted by two local professionals (both of whom I know). I suspect no more than half of New Albany's current sitting City Council could complete this reading without nodding off, and the Mayor ... well, fuhgiddabowtit.

Have a seat, pour a drink, and prepare to be challenged.

Note: M's responses are italicized for contrast only, and not for implied emphasis.

TP
Florida's book has been out long enough now (nearly two years, I believe) that there is emerging evidence that some of his findings are highly debatable. While I certainly am a fan of the creative class, I don't know that 1) it can be created by government policy, or 2) it is responsible for as much economic activity for which Florida gives it credit. I don't think any one theory can explain why restaurants thrive in a neighborhood or why the arts can succeed in some cities and not others - it seems to be a combination of factors, some intentional and some not, that ultimately come together to determine success or failure. I don't imply that we shouldn't proactively attempt to influence our local culture - that very influence is one of the contributing factors, and Florida's findings certainly indicate that.

M
Not long ago I had occasion to search some scholarly databases for responses to Florida's book, and I didn't come across anything I'd characterize as "emerging evidence that some of his findings are highly debatable." Now, this could be a purely linguistic point of disagreement. In a scholarly sense, I would interpret this assertion as a statement that there is evidence of flaws in his methods of gathering, analyzing, and presenting information.

But perhaps you meant to assert something different. Certainly, as with any novel theory (and his is quite innovative), there is debate about the public policy implications of his work, and there is debate about the weight he places on certain variables. On the other hand, he has gathered together a rich assortment of data, connected it in some quite interesting ways, and posed some very provocative policy responses.

Roger's discussion focuses on a part of the evidence that's relevant to his interest in New Albany, but for those who haven't read the book, I would suggest that the overarching theme is that economic development in an industrial economy is based on relatively immobile conglomerations of capital (i.e., factories), and that city/state economic development policies are still focused on creating incentives (through tax abatements, etc.) to spur development along those lines.

On the other hand, knowledge-based organizations are much more mobile, and can best be lured by developing not plant infrastructure, but by attracting and supporting a community of creative individuals with certain skills and attributes that are attractive to prospective employers. Luring and holding those folks (the creative class) requires different public policy responses than offering tax breaks to manufacturers.

As Florida looked around the country, he saw pockets of economic growth in the knowledge industries that were also associated with very strong creative communities, and his analysis suggests that in many of those cases the creative community arose first, and was the attraction that drew the firms that created the economic growth. This is a classic chicken/egg question. There's plenty of reason to believe that wealthy communities are better able than poor communities to support creative classes. But in a knowledge-based economy, Florida would assert, entrepreneurs will take their operations where the talent is, rather than build plants and try to bring the talent to them.

In general, I think economists agree with this model, and economic development professionals increasingly agree. Talk to those people, and they'll tell you that knowledge-based businesses thinking of locating in Louisville want to know things about educational attainment, quality of life, etc., because those factors determine whether an appropriate workforce is available.

The problem for any community is how to forge an appropriate response to a changing economy. Communities that find good responses flourish; those that don't stagnate.

In Louisville, I think we see responses that suggest a misguided response. Dave Armstrong, for instance, certainly had a half-baked understanding of Florida's theory. But the decision to create an "entertainment district" based around things like a Hard Rock Cafe and a TGI Friday's was, on the face of it, absurd and doomed. (Another wrong-headed response was J. Bruce Miller's drive for an NBA team, which is thankfully, at least for the moment, moribund). On the other hand, the First Friday trolley hop was a fine idea, and many community leaders and businesses have made strong commitments to supporting artistic and creative life in the city; those initiatives do have promise.

As for Roger's initial post, and Jay's response, I think comparisons between New Albany and the Highlands are of dubious value. Apart from political boundaries (and the river, of course), it's most useful to consider New Albany and the Highlands as neighborhoods in the larger metro urban area. The forces that drive development in a given neighborhood include costs, accessibility, etc., and the wealth of the neighborhood itself. I'm not convinced that - as a neighborhood - the Highlands is at all diverse. It looks to me like a wealthy, white, well-educated neighborhood, populated almost exclusively by professionals. By contrast, my own neighborhood, Old Louisville, is among the most diverse in the Metro, in terms of most class and race determinants, and yet it doesn't support the kind of dining options one finds in the Highlands. The South End, another very diverse place, supports a bare handful of truly notable places. If restaurant development were associated with class/race diversity, one would expect to see quite different patterns of growth than we see in Louisville.

I suggest that most savvy restaurateurs want to locate in the sweet spots where they have relatively low rents combined with easy access (either directly, by proximity, or indirectly, through transportation infrastructure) to relatively affluent prospective customers. Downtown New Albany has the low rents, but probably not the affluent customers, and is certainly not perceived as convenient by Louisvillians (wrongly, in my view); if the customers were there, restaurateurs would be wise to move into some of the vacant spaces in the downtown area. But the wealth is spreading in the Knobs area and in the residential ring around New Albany (up through Sellersburg, for instance). And there, we do see an increasing number of restaurants (witness the Bristol buying Sam's, and the success of Rockwall, Onion Tea Room, Los Indios, and the Blue Peppermill).

Part of the problem in New Albany is that chef-owned places seldom build new; they need to rent or purchase already existing spaces. In that regard, the Onion is a classic case: a restaurant located in a converted residential dwelling.

I predict what we'll see in New Albany over the next few years will be increasing growth along those lines. But the variables that drive where that growth comes will be fairly straightforward: income levels, rents, and transportation infrastructure.

TP
There have been numerous questions raised (admittedly by the conservative press) about Florida's findings. I don't believe I'm questioning his methodology. In fact, I don't recall any heavy scientific thought taking place in his work. I question his conclusions: that you can change a city by diversifying its population in a marginal manner. I think it would be nearly impossible to change the culture of a community of size - the sheer numbers of "creative" folks it would take to move the dial in a city the size of Louisville is too large. Perhaps Paducah, which I suppose is 5% the size of our metro, has made some progress with their community by focusing on attracting artists. I can't think of another in our area that has benefited from the Florida findings. I think a city grows from putting in place a combination of attractive attributes: schools, arts, amenities - quality of life issues. I'll be the first to cheer for the creative class (as a former musician, board chair of Actors Theatre, former president of the Jazz Society, etc), but I think it is a specious economic argument that this sub-sector of society can change a city. You identified the chicken and egg question, and I think that is the question that Florida didn't answer. Did tech companies move to San Francisco because of its creative class, or is the creative class in San Francisco because of the jobs available there (a narrow example for illustrative purposes)?

Sadly, regardless of whether one subscribes to Florida's thinking, Louisville is far behind in attracting knowledge-based jobs. We're great at $8-per-hour call center gigs, but we can't seem to find out how to get corporate headquarters of exciting businesses to come here. Perhaps, again, it's the chicken and egg question - maybe we don't have enough entrepreneurs in our population to start the businesses that become important to our economy.

Hey, maybe that Florida guy makes sense after all...

M
Thanks for the clarification.

"Conservative press" covers multitudes, but I assume you're referring to conservative commentators and columnists, as opposed to other scholars and academics. The "conservative press" includes both thoughtful commentators and axe-grinding imbeciles, so it's hard to respond without specific citations. But Florida seems to use quite standard economic and demographic evidence and analysis, and I haven't come across much contention about that.

To belabor the point, I think you're again misconstruing his argument when you attribute to him the claim that "you can change a city by diversifying its population in a marginal manner."

Rather, he's making this quite straightforward argument:

1. Cities engage in a variety of economic development activities, including zoning, regulation, and incentives.

2. Those activities are based on notions about what methods are most likely to achieve a given set of desired goals.

3. The practice of most cities at present is to use incentives to attract the kinds of businesses you describe as "$8-per-hour call center gigs," or, more optimistically, $15-per-hour assembly gigs.

4. Many thinkers believe that these kinds of business are not on the path to sustainable economic prosperity.

5. The kinds of businesses that show promise over the next few decades are knowledge-based businesses that are quite mobile. They don't rely on proximity to, say, iron ore or other commodities, but they do require a creative, educated workforce.

6. Smart-businesses often locate where the creative, educated workforce is, rather than locating elsewhere and trying to attract them.

7. Since everyone (except the more dull-witted libertarians) recognizes that cities have a role to play in economic development, the question is, what choices can cities make to effectively attract smart-business?

8. One solution is to create conditions that will attract the appropriate workforce.

9. Those conditions include attributes like tolerance and a range of entertainment and recreational opportunities.

10. As part of their approach to economic development, cities should take steps to create a climate of tolerance and to develop a range of entertainment and recreational opportunities geared toward the people they want to attract.

It goes without saying that no single change is going to transform a city in a hurry. But over time, a sustained pattern of choices creates the city of the future. Convention simply accepts the kinds of knee-jerk economic development activities that lure call centers, and if we want to wind up a city of call centers, we can certainly proceed down that path.

But it's also possible to make incremental steps in a different direction that may lead to different outcomes.I don't know what Florida had to say about San Francisco, but I think most of his analysis focuses on other cities that have shown quite remarkable growth over the last 15 years or so, and if those cities are indicators, then it certainly would be worthwhile for Louisville to experiment meaningfully with some of Florida's ideas. (By the way, it's certainly true that San Francisco was an ultra-tolerant, ultra-hip community long before the technology boom, as a couple of generations of beatniks and hippies would be happy to attest.)

It's worth noting that at one time, Louisville had creative leadership. Think for instance, of Charlie Farnsley, a remarkable mayor and proponent of the Louisville Orchestra, and the First Edition recordings; or of the folks who fostered the Kentucky Center (and, for that matter, Sixth Avenue); or, to give Abramson his due, the push to bring the Presbyterian Church USA to Louisville. And I would submit that the extreme park is actually a smart response to changing times and interests. Observers of the local scene can draw their own conclusions about the directions the current leadership is pursuing, but as you observe, the city doesn't have much of a track record for attracting exciting businesses, and has had little success in stemming the local brain drain.

TP
I think the point you make about a sustained effort is the one that I find the most important, but also perhaps the most unachievable except in the rarest of circumstances. That is my primary argument with any theory such as Florida's that is extremely difficult to implement. It seems that he has measured cities that, for whatever reason, exhibit the characteristics of a creative economy and reported on them, but I think it is nearly impossible for a community to implement the sort of change that would be necessary to become a model of that vision.

Having said that, I don't disagree at all that to aspire to what we all know would be a more vibrant community with a more interesting blend of residents and workers is an admirable thought. I wholeheartedly support such efforts (such as the "Keep Louisville Weird" campaign). I do have concerns, however, that the leadership in the city is not able to undertake visionary activities on a grand scale. I concur with your examples of some out of the ordinary projects that have been produced (I'll add Waterfront Park to the list), but geez, it's a short list for a community of this size with so many resources.

Thanks for the discussion!

M
Yes, it's an interesting dilemma for the city, and you're quite right that sustained effort and continuity of vision is the (unfortunately improbable) key.

One of the major obstacles to success, I think, is persuading the arts community that it actually shares interests with the business community. In the past, there's been a tendency for the arts community to distrust the business forces, which is a bit misguided in view of the obvious fact that hardly a single arts organization in Louisville would survive on ticket sales alone without the generous support of area businesses.

Anyway, let's hope that next year the city moves in positive directions. Thanks for the discussion.