From Culture on the Brazos By Kathi Appelt

Independents' Day

Okay, I'm still in TRM (Thanksgiving Recovery Mode), but other than eating and drinking too much, I spent Friday afternoon with my older son's girlfriend, Aubrey. We decided to do a little shopping. Now Aubrey, born in the early '80's, is actually a child of the '60's, a flower girl if I ever met one. She's full of life and prefers funky fashions to Polo. Being with her is like re-living my own early adulthood.

Anyway, the two of us set out to see what we could see.

Now, if you drive through our community, it's easy to be depressed by all the chains and strip centers. At times, it's hard to discern our township with any other. All the stores are the same. All the brands are the same. A casual drive down any of our main roads would hardly say anything about our village that would be different from, say, Midland. (I was there recently, and it looked a lot like us).

But, I'm happy to report that Aubrey and I found ourselves in shopping heaven at Earth Art, the Old Bryan Marketplace, and the Bead Fountain, three independents. We found clothes, chocolate, and in the case of the Bead Fountain, one of the loveliest proprietors I've ever met. At each stop, we left feeling that our purchases were unique. But beyond that, I felt proud that our community still has people who are willing to go toe to toe with the big chains.

In a day and time of so much conformity, when that same conformity is pressed upon us in our speech, our politics, our clothing, our religion, it's just a pleasure to be able to simply find something unique, but more than that, it's encouraging to see people who are willing to declare a form of independence from corporate pressure, and to bring something fresh to the table.

Our independent businesses face enormous odds and competition, but they bring so much to our community in the way of a signature, a signature that is new, different, and somehow sweet.

Aubrey was refreshing in her exuberance. So are our independents. Let's support them so that B/CS doesn't become another long strip mall and nothing else. I want this young woman to show her friends her new duds and declare that the only place they can be found is in the Brazos Valley. How wonderful is that?

Kathi

From Politics on the Brazos

Some of the Dots

The Eagle published a racist ad yesterday under the Orwellian guise of being anti-racists, as in, anything done to repair the damage done by our long history of racism is itself based on race and therefore racist. This ad was placed by a freshman at A&M who is a white supremacist. This from a reader:

The guy is a white nationalist. He is in Facebook and I have attached a pdf file of his page.

Check out these websites he recommends.

http://www.noaztlan.org

http://www.thetruthisnodefense.com

http://www.sossaveoursisters.com

On the same day as this ad the Eagle showed a picture of the A&M football team celebrating their victory. Guess what. They were all white. In today’s Eagle there is an op-ed piece from a radio talk show person whom I’ve never heard of and never seen published before. This is a black person arguing for a shut up and stand up for your country Uncle Tom perspective. Also in today’s Eagle is a front-page story about citizens in Madisonville concerned about what appears to be racial profiling by the Madisonville Police Department. This is not the first time that the Eagle has covered this story. Each time it has included statements like “At that meeting, Concerned Citizens of Madisonville - a group that has been organizing since September with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union – …“ Historically the subtext of that statement, especially when frequently repeated, is “Our negroes (less civilized words were more frequently used) wouldn’t be get’n so uppity if it weren’t for those outside agitators.”

Connecting the Dots

This I will leave to others. Is the Eagle using very sophisticated means to set out a menagerie of antiquated yet ongoing racism? Or, are they a part of an unintended menagerie? Should they, could they, have refused to publish the ad? Why did they choose the day after that ad to run an Uncle Tom editorial? Were they subtle enough to include something on the sports page? What do you think?

Problem

Perhaps the most widely held misconception about growth is that it always brings economic benefits to the community. But the reality is that poorly planned growth often brings a variety of economic burdens that are borne by taxpayers and existing residents. For example, big-box commercial developments have been proven to weaken local businesses and traditional downtown economies, resulting in a net loss of jobs and tax revenue for communities.

Residential developments on the edge of town appear cheaper only because they are often subsidized with tax dollars. For many of these new developments existing residents pay for expanded police and fire services, road expansion and maintenance, increased demand on schools, and extension of sewer and water lines.

Despite expectations of economic prosperity, many of the fastest growing cities and counties in Colorado have asked taxpayers to pay more money for schools, roads, and public services in recent years – a price tag often in the millions of dollars.

“Governments subsidize sprawl through a number of means, including taxes, zoning practices, infrastructure investment and regulations. Massive public investment in roads, highways, bridges and other traffic management practices accounts for one of the largest subsidies to sprawl.” (from LaRochelle, B., “Economic Incentives,” The Smart Growth Toolkit, Smart Growth BC, 2001)

Solution

Sprawling developments should reflect the true costs and impacts associated with those developments and should pay their own way rather than be supported by increased economic burdens on existing residents.

One of the most important tools local governments can use to address the hidden costs of sprawl is the appropriate application of impact fees to cover the expenses for the infrastructure (such as sewers and roads) and public services (such as fire and police protection) that the new development will require.

Simple formulas created by planners to calculate the projected impacts and costs of new development will generally show that developments in urban areas have less impacts and lower associated infrastructure and service costs than their far removed “greenfield" cousins on the outside of town. In short, by creating a framework whereby new developments bear the actual costs associated with those developments, opportunities in or near existing developed areas will become more attractive.

Likewise, retail projects located in town rather than at the edge where they generate increased traffic will save the community on roads and traffic mitigation expenses. Impact fees also help level the playing field between big-box developers and local merchants, the taxes from whom often are used to lure their direct big-box competitors.

"Since local governments spend a considerable amount of money on infrastructure, and because how they choose to invest these tax dollars has a significant impact on the livability of communities, the economics of local government can be used as a key investment tool…Smart growth supporters can lobby local government to use full-cost accounting practices, so that hidden subsidies and cost are made more apparent." (From LaRochelle, B., “Economic Incentives,” The Smart Growth Toolkit, Smart Growth BC, 2001)

From: Colorado Sprawl Action Center's
Growth Management Toolkit

Posted at Politics on the Brazos

From the New York Times:

Mobile but not flighty, fresh but technologically savvy, “the young and restless,” as demographers call them, are at their most desirable age, particularly because their chances of relocating drop precipitously when they turn 35. Cities that do not attract them now will be hurting in a decade.

“It’s a zero-sum game,” said William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution, noting that one city’s gain can only be another’s loss. “These are rare and desirable people.”

They are people who, demographers say, are likely to choose a location before finding a job. They like downtown living, public transportation and plenty of entertainment options. They view diversity and tolerance as marks of sophistication.

posted by Hugh @ 3:46 PM

Original post in Commerce on the Brazos

Size Does Matter

It is not enough simply to complain about the way that things are getting done. We must also provide sensible solutions. Luckily there are many things that can be done to reverse the sprawl of tedious formula business that are consuming our countryside, devouring our locally owned businesses and sucking the soul and personality from our communities.

One measure that would addresses most of these pernicious effects is to reduce the size of retail space that is allowed. Large retail centers drive smaller locally owned businesses out of business. This is not just an appeal to main street nostalgia, it is a matter of intentionally controlling both the quality of life and the quality of commerce that we encourage in our communities.

From a purely economic perspective we would do well, not only to protect our smaller locally owned businesses, but also to encourage new ones. Locally owned independent businesses keep approximately three times the amount of revenue in our local economy. This is something that the Chamber of Commerce should be promoting. Not only do locally owned independent businesses keep their profits at home, they also hire local professionals and they buy their materials and supplies from local folks as well. The net result is a huge positive impact on our local economy.

Local businesses also encourage tourism, which keeps our money in our local economy, and brings in outside dollars fueling growth. While people may drive ten or fifteen miles to a big box retailer, they are likely to travel great distances to visit locations that have distinctive local culture and commerce. People come to the Brazos Valley seeking the hospitality and spirit of Aggieland. Unfortunately what they seek is an Aggieland of old. It has been swallowed by congestion, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and franchise restaurants. It does not have to be like this.

People are not going to come to the Brazos Valley to Shop at Home Depot, and Wal-Mart. These business may draw people from across the county, but they will not draw people from across the state.

When we allow large super center retail, we are creating a community of congestion. These massive parking lots anchored by a big box drive out neighborhood businesses, making it necessary for people to drive greater distances to get goods and services, thus increasing congestion, and the cost of increased infrastructure driving up taxes.

By limiting the size of retail we encourage locally owned independent businesses that are great for our economy and we reduce congestion and taxes. Now that seems like a win-win situation.

Even though this is a move that would greatly benefit the economy and the quality of life of our community, we can count on this being apposed by most developers who place their short term profits above long range planning and community benefit. There are some developers who are more community minded. We should be actively recruiting these developers to come help us build the city that we want to live in. posted by Hugh @ 10:31 AM


Original post in politics on the Brazos

RESPECT AND SUBSTANCE

This blog was not originally a part of this network but was added because, for many, issues of spirituality are too important to be left off. As this is a domain that can to be divisive, it is not a bad idea to keep it separate. Many issues that could arise may fall into the domain of more than one of these networked blogs. While this will usually be left to the discretion of those posting, there are issues that will be more carefully controlled - most notably the issue of abortion. It is our hope that this blog can provide a platform for this discussion to happen with respect and substance. It is also hoped that there will be a wider range of discussion on this blog than this one topic. posted by Hugh @ 8:25 AM


Original post in cosmology on the brazos