"Those who say it cannot be done shouldn't interrupt the people doing it."

(See photos in this separate post)

As I've noted in the past, one obvious flaw with the blogger.com scheme is the absence of search capability for comments. Think of the many rewarding comment threads over the years, and ask yourself: How do I locate them again?

In reality, you don't easily do so, unless you can remember the original topic and search for the marquee posting.

This is why I'm elevating Lincoln Crum's Saturday afternoon comment to the marquee. At 565 words, and almost none of them "big", it's longer than many marquee blog posts here, and offers an alternative viewpoint of downtown.

Let the discussion continue. Thanks to Lincoln Crum for engaging in the spirit of the dialectic at NAC.

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Lincoln has left a new comment on your post ""And it was all yellow."":

I usually refrain from commenting on any posts here at NA Confidential, actually I don't even like reading them because I usually don't agree with bluegill or Roger Baylor, but, I do need to provide a couple of points of clarification.

1. I am bluegill's brother-in-law and we've been good friends for a very long time. While I disagree with his point of view and approach on this matter I do respect him as an intellectual.

2. As far as Roger Baylor goes, I haven't spoken to him since he stole my seat at last years Barack Obama visit without any acknowledgment of my presence whatsoever. I refrain from drinking NABC beer, although I did do a recent Local Shoutout at the Public House this past week as a show of support for locally owned businesses. I think Roger is probably a little too big for his britches and works way too hard at using big words in his blog and writings that no one really gives a shit about.

3. I'm personal lifelong friends with Todd Coleman and an avid supporter of his business and entrepreneurship efforts.

4. I've had successful businesses in my 20 year career as an entrepreneur and I've had just as many failures.

5. If I've learned anything it's that criticism is cheap and overused in our local communities. Especially those with negative undertones.

6. I owned the building in question and sold it to Todd Coleman in the late 90's. I painted the bottom half of the building a light cream color. I never once had anyone complain about the paint, color, or process, especially as it stood next to a historic building that had been resurfaced with a stucco product.

7. I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says "Those who say it cannot be done shouldn't interrupt the people doing it." I think this applies here with Todd Coleman and the buildings that he's purchased and operated out of for the past 10 years.

If you have been following the progression of downtown New Albany for any time you already know that it was a ghost town only 10-15 years ago. This is when Todd Coleman decided to get involved and operate his businesses in the heart of New Albany. He believed in it when very few others did, he did more than open a business and pay rent to a landlord, he invested, borrowed and built his business all the while investing in real estate and contributing to the economic vitality of downtown.

Now, after he's done this and we have new businesses establishing you guys want to bash the hell out of him. Come on fellas. Put your money where your mouth is and post on this blog the commercial real estate properties that you own, the improvements that you've made to your commercial real estate investments and how you've built your business based on building and property ownership...once you do that than maybe your argument will have a little more validity.

8. Last and certainly not least, I'll remain a good brother in law to Jeff Gillenwater (bluegill), a good customer of Todd Coleman's Classic Furniture and Sleepworld and will continue my boycott of anything Roger Baylor.

Lincoln Crum

Posted by Lincoln to NA Confidential at 4:45 PM

Photo essay: An historic downtown property, and its stewardship.

All photos except the second (yellow) are from the summer of 2008. I couldn't find the photo showing the fallen bricks in the alley behind the building, although they're probably still there.

Today: Reading aloud before proceeding to the Jingle Walk.

The day-long marathon of Christmas story readings at Destinations Booksellers is under way as I type. The correct time for my oratory is 10:00 a.m., so if you're out and about, stop in.

Of course, today is New Albany's Holiday Fest, and all week long the congenitally disaffected have valiantly sought to locate conspiracies in the use of fire trucks to string lights. Bah, Erika, even though we managed to agree on the idiocy of Black Friday. Stopped clocks, and all that.

NABC's gig on this beautiful 60-degree day is the wine and beer "Jingle Walk," in which downtown retailers will be hosting wine samplings. We're the sole brewery, and can be found in Kaiser Tobacco's shop from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. There may be a cigar in it for me.

Here's more information, as sent by Jala Miller yesterday.

---

Subject: Jingle Walk Ticket Pick-up Locations

Thanks again for supporting this holiday event in downtown New Albany! Please take the time to observe all of the new businesses (including stores and restaurants) that have moved to the area sometime during your visit. We are excited about the new developments and we are confident you will be impressed as well.

Below are the ticket pick-up locations. If you pre-ordered your tickets online, just bring your confirmation number or printed confirmation email with you to one of the locations. If you purchased a ticket at Strandz and Threadz, please bring that ticket with you as proof of purchase.

Extra tickets will be available for purchase at each location, but scarves are in limited supply so make sure to arrive early if you have not pre-ordered.

The Gallery on Pearl
222 Pearl Street
New Albany, IN 47150

The YMCA
33 State Street
New Albany, IN 47150

Destinations Booksellers
604 E Spring Street
New Albany, IN 47150

We look forward you seeing you all there -- and thanks again for supporting downtown New Albany!

"And it was all yellow."

There oughta be a law.

He's back.

The doctor reports technical difficulties with the host, hence last week's site crash. He has relaunched his blog.

NAHealth - The Conservative view of Health and Politics with the occasional Friday humor.

Don't expect new directions ...

Unofficially Thanksgiving at the Public House.

Neither NABC location is OFFICIALLY open on Thanksgiving, but at the Public House (formerly Rich O's), our beer manager Mike will be UNOFFICIALLY open at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The pizza oven WILL BE OFF, so no food as usual, but Mike (assisted by Joy) is making a batch of Bison & Elk Chili, and he encourages you to bring leftovers and have a pint or two. The Curmudgeons might even drop by after we've finished our usual Vietnam Kitchen feast and a movie.

On Friday, the Pizzeria & Public House begins operations at 11:00 a.m., and Bank Street Brewhouse will be open at 2:00 p.m.

Today's Tribune column: "Giving thanks for iconoclasts."

Ham-fistedness isn't exactly an attribute, but on the other hand, this is the Open Air Museum. At precisely the time that I'd started warming to the assiduous efforts of our ranking local Republican elected official to seem reasonable and re-electable, the Floyd County GOP chairman decided to vomit Beckisms and Limbaughballs all over me.

That's just crazy ironic, isn't it? Not that Dave does irony, mind you. Now the elected official has to start all over again.

Happy feasting, readers.

BAYLOR: Giving thanks for iconoclasts

Thanksgiving is here, and what a great day for an iconoclast’s column to be published in the local newspaper!

Now, I realize that very few people can read more than one paragraph of (my) writings without scratching their heads and saying, “huh?”

Is it 3 p.m. already?

I just came up for air and noticed that there'd been no time for posting today. There's about five minutes remaining before I bicycle to Jeffersonville to deliver a keg. Note that only the tap handle will be in my handlebar bag. My adjutant, Josh Hill, is bearing the actual keg in his car.

Today's brief point is that in spite of it all, we're making a great deal of progress here in New Albany. In keeping with the notion of saying "yes" rather than "no," I'd appreciate readers posting a Top Five list of positives for a year almost concluded. Perhaps it might contribute to a year-end retrospective.

But this isn't homework, and there'll be no test. Those of you reading who actually know me, as opposed to those in the community who think they know me, are aware that the absence of personal religious belief in my makeup does not preclude a genuine eagerness that every one have the chance to enjoy his or her holidays in whatever fashion works best. You may thank God, Zeus or blue-speckled hungadungas, or thank nothing at all. It doesn't matter, because all of it is calibrated to the individual's inner life and sense of conscience.

So, enjoy the holiday in your own way, or not at all. I'll be splitting time at Bank Street and Grant Line on Friday, and hope to see some of you for a pint o' observance.

NABC wants you to know who is where, downtown.

I've said it before, and I'll repeat: If for any reason you venture into downtown New Albany and find NABC's Bank Street Brewhouse either closed or not to your liking, it is our wish that you remain downtown and visit other establishments nearby. They are not competitors. They are shareholders in the food and dining experience downtown, and our collective success (or failure) will be measured by how we unite to bring people into the historic core and provide them with reason to return.

Verily, we thank you for supporting local businesses. The sign above is the updated version of the one that's been posted to the left of our entrance since March. It seeks to provide an overview of options within the limits of the riverfront development area.

Did we miss you? If so, let me know and I'll have Tony design an addendum.

Steal this graphic...

and then take a moment to visit CoolTown Studios' brief summary of the study from which it was taken. The Urban Conservancy and Civic Economics joined forces to look at two models of New Orleans redevelopment-- one concentrating on local merchants in an urban setting and the other a suburban plan largely devoted to chain stores.

Regular NAC readers can presumably predict the results but more relevant information is always a good thing.

Check out this zinger:

Another conclusion of the study: If New Orleans consumers were to shift 10% of all retail activity from chains to locals, the result would be the equivalent of injecting an additional $60 million annually into the local economy in the form of recirculated dollars that would otherwise have left the area, and $235 million regionally.

It's reminiscent of the number crunching we published previously when looking at local food and grocery distribution.

The Calumet Club adds an elevator ... so when's the beer festival upstairs?

It's been exciting to watch as the final piece in the Calumet Club's upstairs ballroom drops into place. It's a bouncing baby elevator, funded in part by the Horseshoe Foundation's revolving loan program.

The middle picture shows the scene in early October, and the first and third views are from yesterday.

Congratulations to the Bliss family for approaching the final act of this long restoration process. Now all we need is to schedule a party to kick things off.

I mean, c-mon ... Community Dark is on tap, and home's within crawling distance ...

NA Health blog disappears, and it's probably Obama's fault.

Acting on a reader tip (thanks, P), I just pointed my browser that way, and ...

Blog has been removed
Sorry, the blog at nahealth.blogspot.com has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs.

Everyone knows it's windy.

It's obvious that renewable energy sources will play a substantial role in the future of our planet. We simply have no choice.

What's not so obvious, but expertly highlighted in Carbon Nation, an upcoming film from local director/producer Peter Byck recently previewed in its entirety at the Carnegie Center, is that many other countries are actively preparing for the inevitable, ramping up the production of devices - often most fully developed by U.S. scientists and engineers - that will mercifully and necessarily bring our reliance on fossil fuels to an end.

Economic opportunities abound but we thus far seem collectively content to leave the money making to others while we senselessly lollygag, allowing ourselves to become beholden to foreign producers again.

Luckily, not everyone has put their reasoning ability to bed. A press release, alternately credited by various media sources to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and One Southern Indiana, recently let us know that Windstream Technologies, Inc., a company focused on the development of small, energy capturing wind turbines for urban markets, will be moving its research and production headquarters from California to the Purdue Technology Center and Research Park in New Albany. 260 jobs are forecast by 2012.

The creative economy is coming ever faster, led by the small, independently owned businesses that account for over half the jobs in this country and the cities and towns that actively create the physical and intellectual environments in which they want to live and work. The global question is how to better mark the path and to whom to hand the orange spray paint can. Be sure to ask it each time you read a report of local government.

The week to come: Clay pot catfish, GOP knee jerks, Chinese trade balance, Holiday Fest, Jingle Walk and a reading relay.

Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, and the Vietnam Kitchen awaits the Confidentials. There may be a George Clooney movie, too. I also have a column slot on Thanksgiving Day, and it's been filed, sealed and delivered to Coach K. Dave Matthews will appeciate my compassion in defining the words he can't understand. He isn't going to like it much, anyway.

Friday is Black, and best ignored by sane people.

New Albany's Holiday Fest is on Saturday, and this year it is accompanied by a nifty wine and beer "Jingle Walk," in which retailers host wine samplings (just one brewery).

Also on Saturday, there's a marathon X-mas story reading at Destinations Booksellers. As enticement for those readers who enjoy counter-intuitive playing against type, well, I believe my slot starts at 11:00 a.m. Here's the pitch:

Destinations Booksellers, 604 East Spring Street, will host a marathon reading relay of Christmas stories as part of the downtown New Albany "Holiday Fest" on Saturday, Nov. 28, beginning at 7 a.m. and running throughout the day until midnight.

Volunteer readers from throughout the community are being recruited to sign up and read from selected novels for 30 minutes and to solicit pledge donations to benefit the Community Alliance to Promote Education (CAPE).

A Christmas Story, by Indiana's Jean Shepherd, will kick off the reading relay. Everyone knows this story from repeated airings of the 1983 film starring Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, and Melinda Dillon.

When readers conclude that one, the reading team will begin reading from Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory, followed by Wally Lamb's new Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story. Finally, after dark, readers will pick up with Charles Dickens' immortal A Christmas Carol, reading on until midnight.

CAPE is an Indiana program whose administrative operations are funded by The Lilly Foundation and operated by the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated Schools Corporation, but additional funds help the initiative to purchase books for pre-schoolers. All pledged donations will be used to further the distribution of books into the homes of targeted families in order to foster literacy.

Eager volunteers are encouraged to contact Randy Smith at Destinations Booksellers, in person, by e-mail, or by phone, as listed below.

Destinations Booksellers
604 E. Spring St.
New Albany, IN 47150
(812) 944-5116

Dale Moss in the C-J: "From parents to local colleges, giving some thanks."

The headline department must have taken the day off, but get past that, and read as the C-J's Indiana columnist offers a thoughtful survey of positive developments locally. His choicest words are at the beginning.

Dale Moss - From parents to local colleges, giving some thanks (Courier-Journal)

Then again, my parents never made sure I know how to hate, either. They couldn’t. They were clueless about meanness. However open-minded I am is due mostly to them being closed to any other option. My Thanksgiving blessings begin with appreciation for seeing all sides, for believing in the best of people. My parents passed too long ago. But I try for their most-valuable lessons to live on, after all.

I wonder increasingly how others were raised. Hate brews shamelessly on the Internet, at political rallies, on television and radio. Because we are free to believe anything, is it OK – not just legal -- to say and write anything? Here’s hoping the high road is rediscovered.

Mike Kopp and downtown New Albany dining in the C-J.

A link I missed earlier in the week:

Restaurants revitalize New Albany; Downtown booster Mike Kopp credited along with streamlined liquor licenses, by Jenna Esarey (Special to the Courier-Journal)

... Fueling the restaurant boom to an extent was the creation of the Riverfront District. The state allows New Albany to sell the normally difficult-to-acquire liquor licenses within the district for $1,000.

“We are not creating an area full of bars,” said Kopp.

“Toast has a liquor license so they can sell mimosas with breakfast. La Rosita is relocating downtown so they can sell margaritas.”

There's a deep discussion waiting, although I'm not entirely sure there's time for it today.

John McCormick and Keltricity at the craft beer friendly Rudyard Kipling, tonight.

It's amazing that Mr. and Mrs Confidential have reached the point that it's noteworthy when we report that we'll be going to Louisville tonight for entertainment, although there are definite New Albany connections therein.

Here's the word from Keltricity's web site:

Keltricity at the Rudyard Kipling w/John McCormick
November 21, 2009 starting at 7:00 p.m.
422 W.Oak Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203
$10 adults/$5 children
Keltricity joins with fingerstyle guitarist John McCormick for an evening of Celtic music. John regularly tours this country and England a master of the guitar and well known to fans in this area. Native to Indy, now living in San Francisco (and New Albany).

Note that at the Rudyard Kipling, Ken and Sheila currently have a draft lineup of six local craft brews (BBC, Cumberland and NABC) and Guinness. They've "gotten" it for a long time, and this progressive draft lineup is just the latest example that the magic's alive and well.

Help New Directions continue helping New Albany.

Receiving word of our $6.7 million Neighborhood Stabilization Program award was indeed exciting. There are a lot of thank yous owed a lot of people. New Directions Housing Corporation is certainly among them.

New Directions not only provided assistance in preparing the NSP application but they've also consistently worked to create an environment in which such an award can flourish. For years, they've helped the less fortunate among us with their Repair Affair program and aided the City with emergency housing repair for the elderly and disabled.

In addition, the work of New Directions staff has made much needed revitalization training available to New Albany residents in recent years and helped build the professional relationships that ultimately led to a housing market study of our older neighborhoods. That study, along with other products of revitalization training, in turn helped make our NSP application successful.

In the spirit of thanks, I hope you'll take a moment to read the letter from New Directions Executive Director Joe Gliessner below and consider using the Facebook application linked to cast a vote for our friends in a selection process sponsored by Chase Community Giving. Top vote recipients will receive a grant and be made eligible to compete for further funding, up to $1 million.


In this season of thanksgiving, we are especially thankful for our past and current donors, volunteers and supporters. We would like to wish you all a happy and meaningful Thanksgiving holiday.

We would also like to ask you to vote for New Directions in the Chase Community Giving program. JPMorgan Chase Foundation is donating $5 million to local charities and they are asking Facebook users to select which organizations they will support. In Round 1 of the selection process, running now through December 14th, votes will be cast to support the 500,000 charities listed on the Chase Community Giving site. On December 15th, the top 100 organizations will each receive a $25,000 grant and move to the next round for a chance at one of five $100,000 grants or the top grant award of $1,000,000.

Voting is easy, and you can vote for up to 20 different organizations so you can support all of your favorites. To place your vote, go to the following web page:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/

If you already have a Facebook account you can login here, or you can create an account here if you do not have one. After you are logged-in to the Chase Community Giving page, search for New Directions Housing Corp. (this is the exact wording of the listing) or search by zip code to see a map of all local charities in a particular area. When you click on the info link for an organization, you will be directed to a page with details about the agency and a button to vote for this agency. After placing your vote, you will be given a chance to search for additional organizations. You can also choose to notify your Facebook friends about your choice and ask them to vote as well.

Please take a few minutes to vote for New Directions Housing Corporation to keep us in the running for this amazing opportunity from our friends at JPMorgan Chase, and please spread the word to all of your friends and family members so that they can also support New Directions and other local charities of their choosing.



Joe Gliessner
Executive Director
New Directions Housing Corporation

A more direct link to New Directions Housing Corporation within the voting application is also available here.

Open Thread: City council meeting of Thursday, November 19.

See what you miss when I'm busy and can't attend?

But if you were there, regroup from the inevitable IQ loss and let us know what happened.

Breaking: New Albany awarded 6.7 million in neighborhood stabilization funds.

Word from Indy is that New Albany's application for funds via the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) has been approved for $6.7 million.

From the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority's web site:

NSP2 will provide grants to states, certain local communities and nonprofits to purchase and redevelop foreclosed or abandoned homes or other vacant properties, for resale or rental to low, moderate, and middle income households, in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the declining values of neighboring homes. The funding is provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) for additional activities under Division B, Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA).

More as details become available...

Update: Per Daniel Suddeath of the Tribune, the award actually comes from a shuffling of NSP1 funds rather than NSP2.