There is an old joke in law enforcement that is, sadly, true. It goes, “There are two things cops hate: The way things are and change.” Policing in Missouri came under an international microscope after the shooting of an unarmed man in Ferguson, Mo. The incident itself was investigated and found to be reasonable by […]
I recently had the opportunity to travel to our nation’s capital with the Columbia Chamber of Commerce on its inaugural D.C. Fly-in. The two-day advocacy and relationship-building tour featured a tightly orchestrated schedule, starting with a Tuesday morning meet-up before 4:00 A.M. at the surprisingly busy Columbia Regional Airport. By lunchtime, our 10-member contingent had
As someone who does not have children, I was somewhat oblivious to the fact that some school districts were not teaching cursive writing as part of their curriculum. I had heard the angst about teaching the Common Core standards but didn’t spend time drilling down to see what it meant. As a young person who
Opinion: The Consequences of Not Teaching Cursive Read More »
During the past 18 months, the City of Columbia has experienced an unprecedented level of interest from homeowners who want to “downzone” residential properties. Some say reclassifying properties to allow less intensive uses will protect the single-family feel and integrity of their neighborhoods. Others contend that downzoning diminishes property values and could lead not to
The call for a municipal performance audit costing upwards of a million dollars won’t go away. Proponents believe there’s a geyser of cash squirreled away that could be used to augment and enlarge the city’s police and fire services. More cops. More firemen. More vehicles. More stations. More everything else. More empire building for those
That’ll be $600,000, if you please! So the city recently cut a check for that amount to United Airlines to cover the agreed-upon revenue guarantee for the company’s accrued costs for service starting August 1, 2017 between COU and Denver International Airport. A far cry from the hundred dollars or so Ozark Air Lines was
What does it mean to “own” something? For centuries, the system of law that built up first in England, then in America, has defined property ownership in terms of the right to make a range of decisions about and to control the use of a particular asset. The person (or group of persons) who ultimately
If you follow the city council or county commission at all, you’ve probably heard the acronyms TDD and TIF, and you’ve also probably heard of Chapter 100. TDDs started as an additional way to help expand local infrastructure for economic development. The project and funding should be used on projects approved by the taxing district
In October 2016, and at a cost of $1,100,000, the Columbia City Council voted to expand Flat Branch Park and purchased the building and lot at 32 S. Providence. This property abuts the busy Broadway and Providence intersection. Flat Branch Park, located at Fourth and Locust in downtown Columbia, winds behind the Walton Building, which
