DDP redevelopment meeting canceled; Piper to recommend amendment

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 9, 2008 |

Failure to use due diligence, failure to follow state law cited…tumbles “blight” ordinance…

Coalition group to meet 6 p.m. today in APSU’s Clement Auditorium, in lieu of the previously planned city meeting…City Council members invited to attend…

Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper, has taken a bold step and reversed direction on the “blight” ordinance. He has decided to cancel a community meeting that was scheduled for Thursday evening at Austin Peay State University, where members of the Downtown District Partnership were to review the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan. The meeting was planned to allow the DDP the opportunity to inform property owners in the redevelopment area about the plan that they developed and recommended to the City Council.

“I have great concerns about how this was handled and presented to the City Council by the DDP,” Mayor Piper

The Mayor’s office has received many phone calls and comments from concerned residents over the past few weeks on this issue. In addition, the formation of the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition (CPRC), fueled by angry residents of the downtown area, and two standing room-only grassroots public meetings, provided a highly visible evidence of public discontent with the ordinance and the way it was developed and presented. «Read the rest of this article»

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CO Editor published in Pitkin Review

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 9, 2008 |

“Songs,” a poem by Clarksville Online Editor-in-Chief Christine Anne Piesyk, has been selected for inclusion in the Fall 2007 edition of Pitkin Review, the literary magazine of Goddard College.

Originally written for a local peace rally, “Songs” has been read in candlelight services at the Eternal Flame in downtown Clarksville. A lifelong journalist, Ms. Piesyk is a local activist and member of the FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. While she writes predominantly non-fiction and served as a non-fiction editor for Pitkin Review, she is also a poet and submitted her work anonymously for consideration. «Read the rest of this article»

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Piper denies Property Rights group “air time” in “blight” hearing at APSU

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 9, 2008 |

The issue is redevelopment, but the word that triggers the wrath of downtown property owners is “blight.” To shed light on this controversial issue the city will hold a public meeting and present its take on the redevelopment plan on Thursday.

However, Mayor Johnny Piper has denied a request by the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition for equal time to air their view of the “blight bill” during a hearing to be held at Austin Peay State University’s Clement Auditorium Thursday at 6 p.m.

Atty. John Summers requested a time equal to the that of the city’s presenters to offer the concerns of the affected residents. Since the Downtown District Partnership is presenting a 15-minute program, that would have given property owners their own 15-minute voice on the issue before the question and answer session begins.

Ordinance 73-2005-06, passed in November, 2007, designates two square miles and 1800 homes and businesses in downtown Clarksville as “blighted” and potentially subject to eminent domain as the Downtown District Partnership’s Clarksville Redevelopment Plan and Land Use Master Plan are implemented over the next several years. «Read the rest of this article»

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Live at the Met continues with MacBeth

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 9, 2008 |

The Metropolitan Opera continues its eight-performance series of high definition live broadcasts with a new production of Giuseppi Verdi’s MacBeth on January 12 at at 12: 30 p.m. CST at both Green Hills Mall and Opry Mills. Running time is three hours and 20 minutes with one intermission. James Levine conducts.

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