Trolley Hop – the Day Before

 

Woke up this morning to the sound of cargo planes in the far off distance and the occasional automobile on the “new cut road” (early morning don’t ask) as it was referred to nearly 100 years ago.  Not much more than a muddy wagon road periodically flooded by that pesky little stream called the Ohio River.  Today we.re putting on the final touches on our shopping, parks and entertainment venues for the New Cut Trolley Hop while 100 years ago south Louisvillians were clearing field and raising tents for the eagerly awaited Chautauqua events, a popular series of events at that time.

During 100 years the Auburndale Improvement Club has been replaced by the Auburndale Neighborhood Association, the roadhouses that became notorious during prohibition are no longer here (although liquor sales available just extended) and that pesky Ohio is behind the floodwall.  Some things remain the same.  We still read the morning Courier-Journal, experience the warmth of South Louisville hospitality, and feast upon the beauty of Iroquois Park from my front door.

We’re not raising tents for a Chautauqua, but rolling out the trolleys.  We’ll see you tomorrow.  We’re rolling out the carpet and showcasing our best.

We've Struck an Iceberg I Think?

Living in Louisville all my life has been a rewarding experience, I love this City but I must ask is everything as it should be?  Well no and let me explain.  A few observations.  We are a number of cities created and split by highways.  That is I 65 from north to south and the Watterson from east to west.  These concrete curtains and something called the "southwest outfall" charted Louisville's course.  Yet there were countless other factors I could not get a handle on.

I read an article recently that helped to shed light on the City and how it evolved  Here are a few terms that I both troubling and enlightening that describe Louisville:

Issue #147, Fall 2006

Privileged Places Race, Opportunity and Uneven Development in Urban America By Gregory D. Squires and Charis E. Kubrin

Here are but a few examples: 

• Place and race continue to be defining characteristics of the opportunity structure of metropolitan areas.

• Dominant features of metropolitan development in the post-World War II years are sprawl, concentrated poverty and segregation (if not hyper segregation).

• Clearly, these are not separate, mutually exclusive patterns and processes. Rather, they are three critical underpinnings of the uneven development of place and privilege.

• Spatial and racial inequalities are directly associated with access to virtually all products and services associated with the good life – e.g., health, education, employment
• Compounding these troubles are the “mental maps” many employers draw, in which they attribute various job-related characteristics (such as skills, experience, attitudes) to residents of certain neighborhoods.

• Such decision making is framed and limited by a range of structural constraints. Individuals exercise choice, but those choices do not reflect what is normally understood as voluntary.
  
• The end result is often an unintended subsidy of private economic activity by jurisdictions that compete in a “race to the bottom” in efforts to attract footloose firms and mobile capital, starving traditional public services – like education – for resources in the process. A downward spiral is established that further undercuts the quality of life.
  
• Colorblindness is often a euphemism for what amounts to a retreat on race and the preservation of white privilege in its many forms. In a world of scarce resources, class-based remedies dilute available support for combating racial discrimination and segregation.
  
• Many suburban employers are unable to find the workers they need, in part because of the high cost of housing in their local communities. Often there are local developers who would like to build affordable housing and lenders who are willing to finance it, but local zoning prohibits such construction

To access article click here:

If policy is largely responsible for getting us where we are today, then policy can help us pursue a different path toward severing the links among race, place and privilege tomorrow.

To me these descriptors apply to Louisville.  Are we turning a blind eye?  Maybe we do not have it so good.  The solution or acceptance?



 

Evil in the World and America - 73 Years Ago

Click Here

A Gratifying Day

Nothing really specific to "reflect" upon  only that life goes on.  Sometimes you look at life as one large chocolate pie not really sure where to take the first slice from.  It all looks good.  So the slicing begins.

Put out a few paragraphs  about flooding in the south end over the years and its affect on how the area developed.

Continued development planning for the South Louisville Community Ministries.

Heard that a dear friend passed away earlier in the week.

Had a great lunch at PRP Pizza with Mike.

Saw what a unifying force that basketball has on this community,

A positive visit with my allergist.

Enjoyed the eternal friendship of my Wife

Encouraged to see progress as the Trolley Hop Develops.

So t seems that life is a continual process of looking back, reacting to the present and taking stock of the future, thus the chocolate pie.  The common thread seems to be with God's help, Serving.  Come Monday, time to begin slicing once again

Technology - Abuses and Dangers

I am ending the week with the knowledge that:

Secretary of States Office on-line registration system has allowed a business to be created and allowing that company to remain unchallenged in use of my home address.

You say BIG DEAL!  However consider this:

The company is an unlicensed electrical company.

The phone number  I called looking for the company is false.

Unfortunately, a number of Internet companies in a rush to sell services have identified it a going concern. 

Check your address to make sure your home has not suffered a similar abuse.  It appears that a business can be created using false identify and remain unchallenged.

I keep thinking about that group that was caught in Bowling Green a few years ago. 

Remember the phrase used in the banking  crisis "to big to fail"?  We've reached another plateau.  "to big to care".