by admin | Jan 4, 2015 | Activism, Chicago, Government, Public safety, Racism
If I were a major celebrity like Oprah Winfrey, I could expect immediate and fierce feedback whenever I chose to comment on a controversial issue. I am not, but she is, and on Saturday, January 3, she got such feedback after expressing doubts about the leadership of...
by admin | Dec 23, 2014 | Blogging, Climate, Government, Political philosophy, Urban Planning, Writing
The holiday season is upon us, and despite having a modicum of free time that I have not enjoyed for a while, I confess—I am still struggling to compose as much material for this blog as I would prefer. But I am working on it, on some serious material on a variety of...
by admin | Dec 15, 2014 | Activism, Government, Political philosophy, Racism
There has been considerable angst in recent weeks about relations between police officers and young black men, and more than a little finger-pointing. While I certainly think this nation needs ongoing discussions about how race relations affect police activity and...
by admin | Nov 9, 2014 | Disaster, Disaster policy, Government, Public safety, Urban Planning
Little more than a week ago (October 28-29), I was participating in a conference in Broomfield, Colorado, north of Denver, sponsored by the Association of State Floodplain Managers, a national organization of 16,000 members dedicated to better floodplain management in...
by admin | Sep 27, 2014 | Economic development, Education, Government, Urban Planning
College towns can be as different from each other as they are collectively from most other communities. Some literally dominate the economic landscape of their communities. Others are comfortably lodged in a setting that involves a larger community or even a state...
by admin | Sep 25, 2014 | Activism, Books, Climate, Disaster policy, Environment, Government, Science
Reportedly, about 400,000 people attended the People’s Climate March in New York City last weekend. I was not one of them, but that is not because I don’t support their objectives. I had planned to be in Iowa City, and will discuss that visit in an upcoming blog to...