Darfur genocide - US needs to ACT!

By Beth Robinson | December 15, 2007 |

Peace on Earth, good will toward men.

Have you heard these words this Christmas season? The genocide continues in Darfur. Resolutions are passed but there is no action to protect the people. 

This past week I watched the new HBO movie, Sand & Sorrow, narrated by George Clooney, who was trying to explain why the genocide continues. It prompted me to again contact my representatives urging them to support ACTION. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 1 Comment »

Cleaning and ‘greening’ an urban landscape

By Christine Anne Piesyk | December 15, 2007 |

Mayor Johnny Piper’s plan to clean up vacant lots around the city is a giant leap in moving the city forward and instilling a sense of civic pride. It goes hand in hand with efforts to clean up litter; it’s the kind of action that sets a positive example for the community at large.

Though some communities use tax dollars to fund such actions, in the late 1980’s one northern city and its then 27-year-old newly elected mayor, Daniel J. Szostkiewicz, opted to launch a clean up the dregs of a decaying city landscape and move urban renewal giant steps forward by obtaining a federal grant for the walloping sum of two million dollars — for clean up. There was a lot to clean up. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Politics, Technology | No Comments

Residents enraged at ‘blight’ designation, seek repeal of redevelopment plan

By Christine Anne Piesyk | December 15, 2007 |

Audacious. Over the top. Unprecedented. A developer’s “fantasy come true.”

All words used Friday evening to describe the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan that deems 1800 parcels of lands and two square miles of the city as “blighted,” a move that would allow the city to take property designated as blighted and “redevelop” it to its maximum potential. Read “profit.”

Terry McMoore of the Urban Resource Center sponsored a community meeting at the HOPE Center on Legion Street to present a panel of speakers on this issue and to field questions from a worried public.

One phrase in the ordinance that concerned panelists and residents alike reads as follows:

“…the Plan for the project area will afford maximum opportunity consistent with the sound needs of the locality as a whole, for redevelopment of the area by private enterprise.” [Ordinance 73-2005-06, Section 7]

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, News | 7 Comments