More Wal-Mart Supercenters?

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The Daily Union Editorial Page:

That said, we can’t help but notice that the Daily Union staffers have been receiving more than their fair share of “thank-yous” of late, and particularly since May 3. That was the day we reported that the Jefferson Common Council decided 5-3 to ignore high circulation figures and drop the Daily Union after nearly two decades as the city’s official newspaper. Apparently a lot of our Jefferson readers now want us to know that they, at least, appreciate our efforts. Their pats on the back have felt nice.
Conversely, the stabs from five aldermen who perceive our coverage of municipal meetings as biased and erroneous have not. They’ve pointed, in particular, to one discussion on Wal-Mart in which proponents claim we slanted our front-page story against a SuperCenter being built in Jefferson. We’ve also misinterpreted quotes recorded on tape, they say.

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The Amazing Rise of the Do it Yourself Economy

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Daniel Roth:

It used to be that a tinkerer like Misterovich could, at best, hope to sell his idea to a big company. More likely, he’d entertain friends with his Pez-sized visions. But a number of factors are coming together to empower amateurs in a way never before possible, blurring the lines between those who make and those who take. Unlike the dot-com fortune hunters of the late 1990s, these do-it-yourselfers aren’t deluding themselves with oversized visions of what they might achieve. Instead, they’re simply finding a way—in this mass-produced, Wal-Mart world—to take power back, prove that they can make the products that they want to consume, have fun doing so, and, just maybe, make a few dollars. “What’s happened is a tremendous change in awareness,” says Eric von Hippel, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the recent Democratizing Innovation. “Conventional wisdom is so strong [in business] about find-a-need-and-fill-it: ‘We’re the manufacturers; we design products; we ask users what they need; we do it.’ That has begun to crack.”

Illinois Tri-Cities Municipal Broadband Battle – Mother Jones

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Via Glenn Fleishman:

Read the full Mother Jones article on municipal broadband (enter code MJZL6Y to read full article): The fine folks at Mother Jones sent me an access code and permission to post it so you can read the full article they published in this month’s issue about the Tri-Cities, Illinois, battle with SBC and Comcast on one side and the city’s business-backed goals of providing municipal broadband on the other.
Interestingly, the Tri-Cities now have substantially greater broadband services: the two incumbents spent hundreds of thousands to defeat two ballot initiatives, and then probably tens of millions to upgrade their networks.

David Isenberg has more on Japan continuing to kick our butt in FTTH (fiber to the home), including some interesting numbers to single family homes.

Baker on a Big Three Rebirth?

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Mark Baker:

Today’s Wall Street Journal article provides an overview of today’s Auto industry. It answers the question I’ve been thinking of for a long time — “what is an American Car”. Fully 1/3 of the cars built in North America are Non-Big Three. I’m sure that if they went further and looked at “investment” in new facilities over the past 20 years, it would be even further skewed.

Referenda politics

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I was surprised to get the email below which is intended, I thought, to provide updates on the mayor’s activities. My objection is not that a position was taken on the referenda questions, or even that a link was provided to send contributions to those seeking yes votes. Rather, it was the characterization that those who think a no vote is the wiser choice are REPUBLICANS. That’s a mighty dirty word in this town.
I’ll be voting no on the expansion of Leopold. After educating myself on the issues, (thank you School Information System for providing such high quality, non-partisan, primary source information) I’ve concluded that building such a large school is unwise; more important, there are changes in the neighborhood demographics that argue at least for a fresh look. That means I could be persuaded in the future, but as things stand right now, I’m voting no.
As to the other two questions, I’m still trying to work out the answer. I resent being played by the administration over items like strings and I don’t believe the board has done its job, the careful oversight of the budget/budget process. I don’t trust the numbers and I don’t like the fact that Supt Rainwater protected his staff before the budget process formally began. Administration seems like a very fat piece of the budget and, at the risk of offending, also seems like it serves as the golden parachute for long-serving prinicipals as they edge toward retirement. That said, I want our schools able to function to educate our kids. So what I have to decide is if this vote will prompt the board to reevaluate how it does its job.
Does this make me a Republican?

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Mayor Dave’s Plan for Madison

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Mayor Dave released a memo to Department Heads regarding the 2006 capital budget Monday. A few tidbits:

  • Two more swimming pools will be included in my 10-year plan; like the first pool, they will be built with a combination of public and private funds
  • A new Central Library: included in my 10-year plan, funded through a mix of public and private support
  • Streetcars: included in my 10-year plan; funded through a mix of local, state and federal funds
  • Redevelopment of East and Towne malls along New Urbanist lines: private investment

Reasonable ideas, but for the streetcars… I’d love to see rail to O’hare, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.