by admin | Feb 26, 2017 | Books, Civil rights, Economic development, Geography, Government, History, Movies
The Republic of Botswana, a paragon of progress in today’s Africa, did not start life with any apparent advantages. In fact, the former British protectorate of Bechuanaland, which became independent Botswana, appeared in the 1950s to have bleak prospects, in no small...
by admin | Jan 1, 2017 | Civil rights, History, Identity, Immigration, Politics, Racism
For many Americans, including numerous prominent Republicans, one of the more troubling phenomena in the 2016 presidential election was the rise of certain groups who seem to attach their own identity to resentment and rejection of those who do not fit traditional...
by admin | Oct 2, 2016 | Disaster, Environment, History, Industry, Movies
I have just returned tonight from seeing Deepwater Horizon at the movie theater. It has been a while since I used this blog to review a movie, but I feel compelled. This one, I am willing to say, is well worth your time and money. Peter Berg, as director, has done an...
by admin | Jul 4, 2016 | Activism, Books, Civil rights, Government, History, Immigration, Political philosophy, Racism
Long ago, in a graduate urban planning course at the University of Iowa called “Collective Decision Making,” I had an interesting exchange of views with Professor Mickey Lauria, now at Clemson University. We are both much older than we were in 1982, so it might be...
by admin | Jun 25, 2016 | Environment, Floodplain management, History, Parks, Public health, Recreation, Travel, Water
Two weeks ago, I wrote about Cleveland’s Flats Entertainment District, where restaurants and bars now line the sides of the once filthy Cuyahoga River that now hosts boats and rowers. The Flats is but the last reach of a river that extends south into the Akron area....
by admin | Jun 11, 2016 | Economic development, Environment, History, Industry, Personal history, Restaurants, Travel
Let’s start with the fact, obvious mostly in retrospect, that I should have printed out a map of the Flats Entertainment District in Cleveland rather than relying on Onstar, the GM dial-in navigation system in our Saturn, for directions. (I could also have used my...
