Green building: good for environment and good for business

According to Don Moseley, senior Wal-Mart engineer for environmental innovation, these and other efforts "are good for the environment and good for our business."

That's the mantra of the so-called green building movement that's sweeping the nation. Among the adherents are financial institutions such as Citigroup, PNC and Bank of America; automakers such as Toyota, General Motors, Ford and Honda; and such retailers as Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Chipotle and Patagonia.

The added costs of green building – long assumed to be 10 percent to 20 percent more than traditional construction – are falling and may have been exaggerated, according to some who've built green recently.

"There's an assumption of a green premium, but we haven't found that," said Jeffrey Smith, Harvard's director of facilities maintenance.—by Frank Greve, McClatchy Newspapers

The face of Waco's future

Unruffled and refusing to buckle under the pressure of intense questioning, Sarah Roberts, by all accounts, handled herself extraordinarily well last week. In getting grilled, she showed her best side, and ours.—by Carlos Sanchez, Editor, Waco Tribune-Herald

Promising proposal for old Waco High

The fact that this project would be restricted to families with an income of between $20,000 and $30,000 has led some to be concerned. Does that make it low-income housing or public housing? Clearly, people in that income bracket are working and working consistently.

This raises a fundamental question: Who is historic preservation for? If it is only for the stately mansions of upper Austin Avenue, it is nothing more than a nice hobby for those who can afford it.

Well, historic preservation has to be for all of us. It is more than stately mansions. It’s also neighborhoods of cottages and bungalows.

It is churches and county courthouses, and schools.—Guest Columnist Ken Hafertepe, Waco Tribune-Herald

Upscale retirement community announced for Waco

Businessman and Greater Waco Chair Bob Davis is helping to bring a $65 million retirement village to far West Waco, and he knows who the first residents will be: his mom and stepdad.

Wesley Village will go up on 62 acres at U.S. Highway 84 and Old Lorena Road, on land Davis and his wife, Erin, made available to Sears Methodist Retirement System. The Davises donated some of the land and sold the balance.—by Mike Copeland, Waco Tribune-Herald

Chamber wins place at table on important energy/environmental issue

Over the objections of TXU attorneys, administrative law Judge Henry Card named the Greater Waco Chamber an “affected party” in the upcoming hearing, along with numerous environmental groups and local residents concerned about the plants’ emissions.—J.B. Smith, Waco Tribune-Herald

In a statement to members, the Chamber President Jim Vaughan said—

With the unanimous approval of the executive committee, the Greater Waco Chamber requested and won the right today to participate in the case hearings for the air permits for TXU coal-fired plants at Lake Creek and Tradinghouse. 
 
These hearings will begin in early 2007. 

Being included in this process gives the Chamber the opportunity to continue to speak as one of the economic development authorities of Greater Waco and to represent our member-businesses in the ongoing review of this critical issue. 
 
We recognize that the building of these plants can have a significant positive economic impact on our community.

However, we are concerned that at this stage of the process there has not been adequate development of the potential adverse affects of multiple plants in our area.

Accordingly, we have sought party status in these proceedings to seek proof that the proposed plants will not cause Greater Waco to move into non-attainment status, which would adversely affect our competitive advantage for new companies and expansions by existing firms. 
 
David Lacy, Rick Brophy and Sarah Roberts represented the Chamber at the hearings and we welcome your input.

A blueprint for Iraq: Will it work in the White House?

In 142 stark pages, the Iraq Study Group report makes an impassioned plea for bipartisan consensus on the most divisive foreign policy issue of this generation. Without President Bush, that cannot happen.—News Analysis by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times

Visionary builder, developer retires; leaves huge mark on Atlanta region

Former Georgia Governor George Berry calls Tom Cousins, "one of the most influential businesss leaders in the history of the city of Atlanta.

Tom Cousins came to Atlanta in 1954 when the tallest thing in town was a church spire. Thursday, his 75th birthday, he'll retire from working life having helped build his adopted city into the pinnacle of the New South.—by Walter Woods, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

What's the definition of insantity?

Answer: Doing what you have done and expecting different results!



Chattanooga—On Friday afternoons, it takes Carol Underwood as long as 40 minutes to drive about 15 miles along Interstate 24 during her daily commute from her job in East Brainerd to her Lookout Valley home. "That's just the 5 o'clock traffic," she said. "It's horrible."

Waco—Traffic was snarled for several hours after a tractor-trailer carrying produce crashed into the Interstate 35 median between northbound and southbound traffic at 10:45 a.m. The accident happened near Robinson between Sun Valley Drive and State Highway 6.

Wow! Noles upset defending champs

For Seminoles fans who saw their football team come within a touchdown of knocking off the highly ranked arch-rival Florida Gators a week ago, Sunday night was oh-so-sweet.

Florida State's men's basketball team ended a two-game losing skid and stunned No. 4 Florida - the defending national champion - 70-66, prompting the sellout crowd to rush the Civic Center floor in a sea of garnet and gold.—Tallahassee Democrat

Rebuilding Waco's square

Of this place, our place, we need a big chunk to remain ours.

But rather that huge, asphalt parking lots used just a few times a year, imagine housing, shops, offices—all surrounding parking—bringing people to use the important downtown area 365 days a year.

Heritage Square will be significantly enhanced by having buildings surrounding it, particularly with people making it an everyday place to relax or have a sack lunch.

With more people on a regular basis will come more pretexts for gathering, like noontime music, chess competitions, walking, jogging — you know, what happens in a real city.—Based on a column by John Young, Waco Tribune-Herald

Edwards, Hutchinson: Expect VA announcement soon

In the strongest signal yet that a decision on the future of the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital could be just days away, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said they have been asked to plan a major announcement that could expand the mission of the embattled hospital.

The VA has been considering plans to downsize, close or improve the hospital since June 2003, and the Texas lawmakers signaled Thursday night that the long wait could be nearing an end.

“I think it’s fair and realistic to say it’s going to be positive,” Edwards told the Tribune-Herald editorial board Thursday.—by Dan Genz, Waco Tribune-Herald

Seeing the seediness, and celebrating it

Ever since the great suburban exodus of the postwar years, American cities have experienced varying degrees of panic about their identities. One result is that more and more cities have taken on many of the qualities of suburbs to survive. Meanwhile, the once-smooth surface of suburbia has cracked open, revealing a dark underbelly that once seemed to be the exclusive realm of the city.



The new Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is a radical rejoinder to this seismic shift. Housed in an abandoned car dealership on a barren strip of Woodward Avenue, it fits loosely into a decades-long effort to restore energy to an area that was abandoned during the white flight of the 1970s.—by Nicolai Ouroussoff, New York Times

Kudos to Baylor's Daniel Sepulveda

Baylor senior punter Daniel Sepulveda, a Ray Guy Award finalist, was named the special teams player of the year on the coaches’ All-Big 12 football team that was announced Tuesday.

Sepulveda had a school-record 46.48-yard average that ranks first in the country, while the Bears are third in the nation in net punting at 39.01.—from Waco Tribune-Herald

With Downtown Waco on hold, other leaders must take up the torch

City of Waco officials will be looking to find an outside entity to market downtown using city funding, and the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce has emerged as a candidate. The chamber plans soon to present a proposal to the city of Waco to take on the downtown marketing contract, president Jim Vaughan said.—by J.B. Smith, Waco Tribune-Herald

Mike Luckovich on Bush Presidential Library

—by Mike Luckovich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Half a billion for library?

New York Daily News Washington Bureau Chief says the President hopes to raise $500 million to build his library and a thinnk tank at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Quoting one Bush source: "You can't ask people in Dallas for $20 million until they can be sure the library won't be in Waco."

We'll see.

Not in our lifetimes?

A few years ago, Jim Moll, a real estate agent, turned to his friend Bill Baum, a developer, and asked whether anyone would ever sell condominiums on Vine Street, the epicenter of race riots here in 2001.

“Not in our lifetimes,” Mr. Moll recalls Mr. Baum replying.

But much of the area, including this part of Main Street, has begun to thrive again, five years after race riots brought redevelopment to a halt.—by Christopher Maag, The New York Times

Attracting the next generation: Cool cities initiative

Cities have long competed over job growth, struggling to revive their downtowns and improve their image. But the latest population trends have forced them to fight for college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds, a demographic group increasingly viewed as the key to an economic future.

The problem for cities, says Richard Florida, a public policy professor at George Mason University who has written about what he calls “the creative class,” is that those cities that already have a significant share of the young and restless are in the best position to attract more.—by Shalila Dewan, The New York Times

(From left, Bria Bryant, 25; Tiffany Patterson, 27; and Obi Ogene, 27, at Verve, a new Midtown bar and restaurant in Atlanta. Ms. Patterson, originally from Dallas, and Mr. Ogene, from Nigeria, are part of a growing trend of young people who are moving to Atlanta.)

Why tear these buildings down? It's social engineering

The ravaged neighborhoods of New Orleans make a grim backdrop for imagining the future of American cities. But despite its criminally slow pace, the rebuilding of this city is emerging as one of the most aggressive works of social engineering in America since the postwar boom of the 1950s. And architecture and urban planning have become critical tools in shaping that new order.—by Nicolai Ouroussoff, The New York Times

No child left behind? Achievement gaps remain, perplexing and persistent

Despite concerted efforts by educators, the test-score gaps are so large that, on average, African-American and Hispanic students in high school can read and do arithmetic at only the average level of whites in junior high school.—by Sam Dillon, The New York Times

Happy Thanksgiving?

—Mike Luckovich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta superintendent gets big bonus tied to test scores

On top of Atlanta school Superintendent Beverly Hall's $250,000 base salary, her contract entitles her to a sizeable $68,266 bonus — about the cost of a teacher's salary — if she meets "reasonable, specific" goals.

This year, an analysis of 33 goals based on test scores and student attendance showed that Hall was entitled to the full amount. She also got the full amount last year.—by Patti Ghezzi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New urbanism and noblesse oblige

There seems to be a growing optimism across Waco’s economic landscape, including downtown. For most of us, it’s been a long time coming.

I celebrate the positive things happening in Waco. But in the growing optimism, we cannot afford to forget the poor or think that everyone benefits just because some do.

Noblesse oblige, a term used to imply that with wealth, power and prestige come social responsibilities, must be a part of the strategic formula.—Jimmy Dorrell, Board of Contributors, Waco Tribune Herald

Waco is designed for drivers, not walkers. That has to change

Only 100 people crossed South Valley Mills Drive, from Speight to Clay avenues, during an eight-hour period.

Are those numbers a reason to downgrade pedestrian concerns along the thoroughfare? Absolutely not.

Pedestrian needs advocate Skip Londos points out in a letter to the transportation department that judging pedestrian needs based on how many people walk in Waco is “akin to counting the number of people wearing swimsuits on a busy golf course and concluding that none of the golfers likes to swim.

“The golf course was designed for golfers,” he writes, “not swimmers.”

Waco is designed for drivers, not walkers.

That has to change.—Editorial, Waco Tribune Herald

Health care is strong Waco asset; it can pay off further

The Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce recently launched a new branding campaign for the Waco area, “Waco We Do.”

It touts the many different things we do well in Greater Waco.

Health care is one of those things — a big part of our economy. The chamber wisely wants to grow the sector even more.—by Dr. Roland Goertz, guest columnist, Waco Tribune-Herald

No guarantees that IGCC technology works? Not true!

GE Energy, which pioneered coal gasification 30 years ago, decided in 2004 that IGCC was a moneymaker—if only someone could "guarantee" that the technology worked. That year GE acquired Chevron-Texaco's coal-gasification business, and now it offers turnkey coal-gasification plants—with warranties.

"Before, companies would give you a book 1 1/2-in. thick, describing gas flows in the system so you'd build your own and, if it didn't work, you were liable," says Edward Lowe, GE's Houston-based general manager of gasification.

Now GE offers to take on responsibility for everything "from coal off the coal pile to electrons on the grid."

AEP and Duke Energy are in the process of design work on three new IGCC plants in Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana, with GE and Bechtel.—by Cathy Booth Thomas, TIME Inside Business

Texas's big global warming battle

In this era of corporate environmentalism, big companies like General Electric, Wal-Mart and McDonald's have grown accustomed to working closely with save-the-earth groups like the World Resources Institute, Conservation International, even Greenpeace.

And then there's TXU.

The battle between TXU and its opponents will be an interesting test of public sentiment about the issue of climate change in a state that, unlike California and New York, has taken the position that government action to curb global warming is unnecessary. Texas generates about 10 percent of the nation's CO2 emissions, more than any other state.—by Marc Gunther, senior writer, Fortune magazine

$1.2 Billion for depressed freeway?

Depressed is the operative word here. Read this from the Dallas Morning News--

The Texas Department of Transportation announced plans in 1987 to build a pair of five-mile, three-lane tunnels about 100 feet below the LBJ Freeway surface. And while those tunnels technically remain an option, their cost has forced the state to reconsider.

The backup plan: An open channel similar to depressed sections of Central Expressway.

The open channel would run five miles in the median area of LBJ and would sit about 25 feet below existing lanes. Like the tunnels, the channel would provide three new lanes in each direction that motorists would have to pay to use. Construction could begin in mid-2008, and all lanes should open by the end of 2013, Mr. Hudspeth said.

Whatever the approach, something must be done soon to improve traffic on a highway that handles 262,000 vehicles a day near Preston Road, said Kathy Ingle, a community leader who has taken an active role in the LBJ discussions.

"We no longer have the option of discussing this indefinitely," she said. "For the mobility of North Texas, we have to get this done."

Old hands from the family business

Nine months after invading Iraq, President Bush told an interviewer he did not turn to his father for strength. "There is a higher father that I appeal to," he said. Nearly three years later, Bush may be appealing to his earthly father as well. Or at least his people.—by Peter Baker and Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post

John Young: Face it, illness can be good for business

The least of my intentions is to mock the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. In the last two years under current leadership, it has done more far-seeing things than it did in the 20 other years I was paying attention.

Indeed, the discussion it led last week about health care was far-seeing and smart. It’s too bad our community isn’t being as far-seeing about our health.—John Young, Waco Tribune-Herald

Now there's a politician who can tell a joke!

Mike Lukovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Voters must force leaders to face reality

What we need at this moment in our history are leaders willing to deal with reality, leaders of either party who understand that we cannot live safely and prosper if we continue to wrap ourself in illusion and make-believe.—Jay Bookman, deputy editorial page editor, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Are we winning in Iraq? Ask Bechtel

Bechtel Corp. went to Iraq three years ago to help rebuild a nation torn
by war. Since then, 52 of its people have been killed and much of its work
sabotaged as Iraq dissolved into insurgency and sectarian violence.

Now Bechtel is leaving.

"Did Iraq come out the way you hoped it would?" asked Cliff Mumm,
Bechtel's president for infrastructure work. "I would say, emphatically,
no. And it's heartbreaking."—David R. Baker, San Francisco Chronicle

Waco as "clinical trial" mecca could attract new businesses

The way to grow Waco’s health care industry is to identify diseases that have a large impact, then entice companies that play a role in treating them to offer services here, a consultant told local officials Tuesday.

For example, the Waco area could be marketed as a good place for clinical trials of new health care products.

The presentation was made at a luncheon hosted by a newly formed group called the Greater Waco Health Care Alliance. It is a product of a master plan unveiled by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce a year ago that aims to improve everything from the area’s business climate to race relations.—by Cindy V. Culp, Waco Tribune-Herald

As inner cities transform, so do suburbs

On issues from housing to mass transit to education, it's important to recognize that the problems we think of as urban aren't getting solved; they're just sprawling along with everything else.—by Jay Bookman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Changing perceptions

See our commercials at www.wacochamber.com

Libraries unbound: Cities redefining spaces beyond books

Buy a snack, hear a lecture; lively new spaces invite interaction.

"Libraries are social institutions," says Loriene Roy, professor of library science at the University of Texas and president-elect of the American Library Association. "And they simply reflect what's going on in our society. People are looking for public interaction just as much as they are looking for information. Libraries today have to be the living room for their community."—by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, Arts Writer, Austin American-Statesman

Budgets falling in race to fight global warming

"We’ve got a $12 trillion capital investment in the world energy economy and a turnover time of 30 to 40 years,” said John P. Holdren, a physicist and climate expert at Harvard University and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “If you want it to look different in 30 or 40 years, you’d better start now.”—by Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times

White House is cutting and running from "stay the course"

President Bush and his aides are annoyed that people keep misinterpreting his Iraq policy as "stay the course." A complete distortion, they say. "That is not a stay-the-course policy," White House press secretary Tony Snow declared yesterday.

Where would anyone have gotten that idea? Well, maybe from Bush.—by Peter Baker, Staff Writer, Washington Post

Frozen in memories, but melting before their eyes

To hear the locals tell it, you would think they were referring to a loved family member declining in old age.

“It hurts, it hurts,” Philipp Carlen said of his feeling toward the vast Rhone glacier, which once came to the edge of his hotel, but now has receded several hundred yards. The glacier, whose soft contours and dirty gray surface make it resemble some huge sea creature, a whale perhaps, is rapidly shrinking, in the mild autumn weather, by 12 to 15 feet a day.—John Tagliabue, The New York Times

Less bad is still bad

Tallahassee Democrat columnist Bill Berlow on the issue of energy and the environment—

Over the past three years I've concluded that investing multimillions in the Taylor Energy Center coal-plant consortium is a bad idea.

Because there's a bigger issue that Tallahassee and the rest of the world had better come to grips with: global warming.

Not long ago, when I heard or read those two words, I had to stifle my yawns. Many of those who insisted there was a crisis struck me as Chicken Little types who couldn't explain all the fuss in layman's terms.

Nonscientists like me need our scientific explanations to be simplified.

Then I discovered someone who straddles the science and industrial worlds. Virginia architect William McDonough, a leading advocate of "sustainable" development, summed it up in five words: "Less bad is still bad."—Tallahassee Democrat columnist Bill Berlow

Ted Turner on UN: Needs met, peace kept globally

I've been getting some questions about the value of the United Nations and about what I've learned since I donated one-third of my wealth to start the U.N. Foundation almost nine years ago. Here's the answer:

The fact is that the United Nations works — for the world's poor, for peace, for progress and for human rights and justice. And we need it to go on working if we're going to deal with the serious and sometimes frightening challenges facing us.—by Ted Turner

Times Editorial: Blowing in the Wind

On considering a change in tactics in Iraq—

"... the way this sudden change of hearthas come about, after months in which Mr. Bush has brushed off all criticism of his policies as either misguided, politically motivated or downright disloyal to America, is maddening."—Editorial, The New York Times

Chamber's giant step downtown

Thursday was a special occasion. It was the day the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce announced plans for its new headquarters, adjoining Heritage Square.

Not only is it making a major capital investment — sparkling quarters in what has so long been a hole in Waco’s heart; in cooperation with the city it is signalling a sea change in economic development downtown.

Plans on city property surrounding the new chamber office and across Washington Avenue call for mixed-use development, with a contractor already on board.

Few announcements in the city have been as encouraging. It is big news that members have pledged over $4 million in the Chamber drive.—Editorial, Waco Tribune-Herald

Projects to transform downtown Waco

The look and feel of downtown Waco will change dramatically in coming years, thanks to a Houston company's proposed $50 million mixed-use development and the groundbreaking in December for a $2.5 million Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

Longtime Waco businessman Tom Salome, who has spearheaded raising $4.7 million for the new chamber building and the hiring of new chamber staffers, said Thursday that goal is within reach.—By Mike Copeland, Business Editor, Waco Tribune-Herald

Is that a WalMart?

Instead of a gun case, you'll find a gourmet cheese case. And there's no oil-change center, but there is nearly 70 linear feet of wine. Is this the future for Wal-Mart? It is in Midtown Atlanta.—by Patti Bond, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

John Young: Truthiness vs. truth

“Face it, folks,” Waco Tribune Herald Columnist John Young quotes Stephen Colbert. “We are a divided nation. Not between Democrats and Republicans, or conservatives and liberals, or tops and bottoms. No, we are divided by those who think with their heads and those who know with their hearts.”

And that’s the honest truthiness.—by John Young, Columinist, Waco Tribune-Herald

Mike Luckovich: It's a long story

By Mike Luckovich, the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Baylor study debunks the ‘religious conservative’ and ‘secular liberal’ stereotypes

"Political liberals and conservative are both religious. They just have different religious views," said Paul Froese, one of the sociologists working on recently released Baylor University Religion Study, which turns the conventional wisdom that conservatives are religious and liberals are secular on its head.—by Terri Jo Ryan, Waco Tribune-Herald

A weekend in Chattanooga

NOT too small and not too big, Chattanooga is really the undiscovered gem of Tennessee, where old-school Southern manners and grand Victorian mansions meet a thoroughly modern, eco-friendly Tennessee riverfront. You’ll be called “sir” or “ma’am” everywhere, but ’noogans can have attitude to burn, too, like the wry bartender who showed the door to a wag yelling for “Free Bird” during a pub’s original-music night.

—Chattanooga's Tennessee Aquarium

Texans debate air quality amid coal expansion

HOUSTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Texans may consume more electricity than other Americans, but they're suddenly debating the wisdom of doubling the number of coal-fired power plants in the state -- plants critics say will worsen air quality and increase health risks.—by Eileen O'Grady

Outtakes—

The concentration of plants in one area of the state has raised concern among residents, business owners and elected officials who normally support new investment, said Jim Vaughan, president of the Waco Chamber of Commerce. The number of coal plants in Texas would double if all new plants are built. "That's got people saying we need to know more about this," he said.

"Everyone is really concerned about the environment," Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy said at one of two McLennan County public hearings held last week which attracted more than 300 people. DuPuy urged the state agency that issues permits to require TXU to stagger plant construction to match the state's rising demand for power. "Give the new technology time to develop," said DuPuy. "We've got to err on the side of health."

Time to move the Mississippi?

Scientists have long said the only way to restore Louisiana’s vanishing wetlands is to undo the elaborate levee system that controls the Mississippi River, not with the small projects that have been tried here and there, but with a massive diversion that would send the muddy river flooding wholesale into the state’s sediment-starved marshes.—Cornelia Dean, The New York Times

Irbit is Daytona, Sturgis and Milwaukee all rolled into one

IRBIT is a small city in western Siberia, situated on the bleak plains east of the Ural Mountains. In the main square, it has a statue of Lenin that cheeky capitalists have painted pink. That monument is not the only thing that distinguishes Irbit: its 43,000 or so permanent residents are said to own, in toto, some 60,000 motorcycles. Noteworthy, indeed, for a place with a subarctic climate — brief cool summers and brutal winters worthy of a Boris Pasternak epic.—by Jerry Garrett, The New York Times

On creating jobs and stopping global warming

When we make big mistakes in America, it is usually because the people ... who knew better did not have the courage to do better.—Al Gore at New York University

Hey Louisiana: Leave Willie alone

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana (AP) Willie Nelson and four others were issued misdemeanor citations for possession of narcotic mushrooms and marijuana after a traffic stop Monday morning on a Louisiana highway, state police said.

Noles Win, Noles Win

Weatherford leads Florida State over Miami 13-10



''You don't know how hard it is to beat Miami,'' said FSU coach Bobby Bowden, whose team went 8-5 in 2005. ``I've been playing them for 31 years and they've probably got as good a defense as there is in the country—unless it's us.''

Adopt-a-School kickoff event

Jim with Willie. . .

. . . and Jim the Roper

Remembrance of downtown past

From my apartment near the top of Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, I watched two lines of black smoke as thick and slow as oil spills pour across the sky far downtown. In my mind, that morning, I also stood in another apartment, just below the World Trade Center, and it was 1974.—by Holland Cotter, The New York Times

Feeling morally, intellectually confused?

The man who sees absolutes, where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning, is either a prophet, or a quack.

Donald H. Rumsfeld is not a prophet.

Mr. Rumsfeld’s remarkable speech to the American Legion yesterday demands the deep analysis—and the sober contemplation—of every American.

Read Keith Olbermann's essay which ends with this quote from Edward R. Murrow.

“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty,” he said, in 1954. “We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.

“We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular."

A master of the loft building gets his day in the spotlight

A new book on the architect Ely Jacques Kahn is out, a few months after the Landmarks Preservation Commission protected his signature building: the blocky, brilliantly colored 2 Park Avenue of 1928. Kahn was a master of the 1920’s loft building, introducing variety and expression into an area usually governed by the cheapest product possible.—by Christopher Gray, The New York Times

A crystal showcase reflects a city’s glass legacy

“Without a glass palace, life becomes a burden,” the poet Paul Scheerbart wrote nearly a century ago. Standing in front of the new Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, designed by the Japanese team of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, can reawaken that belief in the power of glass to enchant.—by Nicolai Ouroussoff, The New York Times

Compliant and subservient: Jimmy Carter's explosive critique of Tony Blair

Tony Blair's lack of leadership and timid subservience to George W Bush lie behind the ongoing crisis in Iraq and the worldwide threat of terrorism, according to the former American president Jimmy Carter.

"I have been surprised and extremely disappointed by Tony Blair's behaviour," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

"I think that more than any other person in the world the Prime Minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington - and he has not. I really thought that Tony Blair, who I know personally to some degree, would be a constraint on President Bush's policies towards Iraq."-by John Preston and Melissa Kite

Silence After the Storm: Life has yet to return to much of a city haunted by Katrina

The amount of insured damage from Katrina was more than $55 billion, greater than that from Hurricane Andrew, the World Trade Center attacks and the Northridge earthquake combined.

Read this by Peter Whoriskey in the Washington Post.

Extend hand of forgivness: Andy Young's apology

Last month, I visited Rwanda for the second time. Rwanda is a country of enormous beauty, and a country with important lessons for all of us. A decade after Rwanda's horrible genocide, the Rwandans refuse to identify themselves by their former Hutu and Tutsi tribal traditions. Now they are all Rwandans. I should have learned in Rwanda.-Andrew Young, The Atlanta Journal Constitution

As Atlanta's intown continues to flourish, it's becoming the in place to live and play

Recently released figures show that the city added nearly 10,000 people last year, continuing a growth spurt that has pushed the population higher than it has been in at least 25 years. Those who follow Atlanta population trends say the newcomers are likely to be well educated, well heeled and well intentioned.-by David Pendered, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In Moscow, a Battle for a Modernist Landmark

John Stubbs, the vice president for field projects at the World Monuments Fund, likens it (the Konstantin Melnikov house in Moscow) to Sir John Soane’s house museum in London and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, calling it “a rare and telling survivor of the extraordinary story of the Russian artistic avant-garde.”-by Christopher Mason, The New York Times

It's water!

Perhaps, but the humble water cooler doesn't make as much of a media splash as the $38-a-bottle Bling water (encrusted with Swarovski crystals) or the $5,000 Evian bath available at the Hotel Victor in Miami. (Tennis star Serena Williams recently dipped into the 350-gallon infinity tub, filled to the brim with Evian Natural Spring Water, and declared it refreshing.)

About such excess, generic water sipper Chuck Konfrst, 35, of Peachtree Corners, had only this dry comment: "If somebody has that kind of money to buy water, they've got too much money."-by Bo Emerson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Washington needs an entrepreneurial approach

The defining lessons of my business experience are central in my campaign: identifying the challenges that face our state and offering real solutions. Something clearly worked, because the voters decided to do what our Founding Fathers envisioned; they put their trust not in a career politician but in a concerned citizen and experienced businessman who promises to rock the boat down in Washington.—Ned Lamont, Opinion Journal, The Wall Street Journal

Grand designs: HKS Architects works on high-profile projects near and far

What do a Brazilian soccer stadium, Walt Disney World's Boardwalk Resort, a Chinese casino, and the CNL Center office complex in downtown Orlando have in common?

They all reflect the work of designers in the Orlando office of HKS Inc., a national firm that takes a very broad view of its field of expertise.—Jack Snyder, Orlando Sentinel

Kicking the oil habit, a commentary by Robert Redford

Today the American people are way out in front of our leaders. We're ready to face our toughest national challenges, and we deserve new and forward-looking solutions and leadership, says Robert Redford in a Commentary on the CNN website. He cites Austin, Texas, as leading a growing number of cities in calling for car companies to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles that can go hundreds of miles on a gallon of gas.

The big architects are in town

The sense that art and architecture can be a major lure is not lost on Robert Wennett, the developer for Herzog & de Meuron's Lincoln Road building and for another mixed-use project in Miami Beach.

"Your tourism base is not solely to go the beach," Mr. Wennett said. "Cultural tourism is extremely important. People will come to see the buildings."—Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times

Tallahassee newspaper apologizes for how it treated civil rights leaders 50 years ago

A public apology on behalf of the institution does not undo what was done, but it is a symbol - and simply the right thing to do. Sometimes words need to be said, and written, for the healing to begin. Painful emotions bottled up inside for all these years - feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger - need to be addressed. It is our hope that we at least get you to think and talk about an issue that few seem to want to think or talk about. It is our hope this apology acknowledges the hurt we have caused and perhaps allows for healing.—Patrick Dorsey, President and Publisher, Tallahassee Democrat and Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor

An architect with plans for a new Gulf Coast

He's the man architecture critics love to hate: Andrés Duany, charismatic prophet of the New Urbanism, with his nostalgic prescriptions for dense, walkable neighborhoods energized by stores, mass transit and traditional housing.—Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times

Fifty years ago: Tallahassee newspaper on the wrong side of history

Fifty years ago, Tallahassee's newspaper of record placed itself on the wrong side of history when it failed to support the black community's calls for the end of segregation on city buses.

On Tuesday, the Tallahassee Democrat's executive editor publicly asked its readers then and now to forgive it for what he called the newspaper's "callousness and indifference."

"It is inconceivable that a newspaper, an institution that exists freely only because of the Bill of Rights, could be so wrong on civil rights," said Bob Gabordi, reiterating words from a column he wrote with the newspaper's publisher, Patrick Dorsey, which ran Sunday. "But we were."—Julian Pecquet, Tallahassee Democrat

Putting environmentalism on the urban map

By 2009, when all the available sites on its 92 acres will be developed, Battery Park City will have eight green residential buildings and a green Goldman Sachs headquarters. All these projects are expected to be certified gold — with three potentially rated platinum — under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ratings system.—Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times

Bigger houses, longer commutes

Julie Kroloff makes the trip from Dutchess County to her office in Midtown Manhattan in just under two hours. If traffic is heavy, Ms. Kroloff's 54-mile commute can take two and a half hours or more.

in Burlington, N.J., south of Trenton, Ronny Byrd, will reach his New York destination in two hours.

In Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Atul Ramayani, a computer analyst, boards Metro-North's increasingly crowded 7:10 express bound for Grand Central Terminal. In all, Mr. Ramayani's commute takes close to two hours, including the 20-minute drive to the station and a 10-minute walk from Grand Central before he clocks in for the day.

It is a trend that Mark S. Jaffe, the president of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, calls worrisome. "If people have to travel so far, how can they still be alert and productive on the job?" he said. "Very few people want to commute long distances, but the lack of affordable housing closer in forces them to do that."

—Elsa Brenner, The New York Times

Is that a tinge of green on New York's Yellow Cabs?

Evgeny Friedman, who manages three taxi fleets in the city, including the one for which Israfil Islam drives, said saving gas was part of the hybrids' appeal. "As a fleet manager, I live under the theory: happy driver, happy public, happy fleet manager," Mr. Friedman said. "If the drivers are happy, I'm ecstatic."

Mr. Friedman's fleets, with about 650 cars in all, include 22 hybrid Escapes. The remainder of New York's hybrid taxis are two Lexus RX 400h's, two Toyota Highlanders and one Toyota Prius, according to the taxi commission.—Austin Considine, The New York Times

Living it up in downtown Austin

"As urban Austin continues to become more exciting, it fuels its own increased demand," said Larry Warshaw, a co-developer of several loft and condo projects in the downtown area. "The strongest driver for downtown is downtown itself. The more residential that comes, the more residents who want to come."by Shonda Novak, Austin American-Statesman

Clinton reminisces on friendship with Rapoport

Former President Bill Clinton on Friday warmed some 1,000 wined-and-dined supporters of social and economic justice with a gentle message of regard for a Waco philanthropist and longtime political benefactor.

Proceeds from the gathering in honor of Bernard Rapoport were to benefit the nonprofit Center for Public Policy Priorities, which speaks on behalf of low-income Texans at the Capitol.—Austin American-Statesman

Downtown Miami in midst of a building explosion

"Cities like Manhattan, Boston, San Francisco — these are the examples we are using to move (Miami's) downtown forward," said Johnny L. Winton, a member of the City Commission, adding that some 90,000 housing units were in various stages of construction citywide. But many residents, environmentalists and even developers believe that the growth has been too rapid and undisciplined to support an influx of new residents. They say that buildings are going up without adequate mass transit, parking and water systems or a workable street grid.—Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times

Flying Biscuit to go national

I don't know Flying Biscuit, but "home-baked and organic goods served by tattooed waiters and waitresses navigating between mural-covered rooms" sounds like an interesting concept. Raving Brands to take the restaurant national. Story from the Atlanta Constitution Journal.

'Greenwash': A way to say 'hogwash'

"Greenwash is when somebody says that, 'Oh, we have the greenest building in town,' and they do not have the metrics to show that they've done something," said Anthony Bernheim, an architect at SMWM in San Francisco. "We've coined it from 'whitewash.' "
A range of businesses, industry trade groups and nongovernmental organizations have leaped to fill this need, offering seals of approval for everything from the source of lumber to the recycled content of various building materials.

Third-party certifications can support an application for the most recognized seal of approval, from the U.S. Green Building Council. The council, a nonprofit group, promotes energy efficiency and other environmental benefits in construction and design, and has established criteria to measure how green buildings are. The system is called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design; so far more than 450 buildings have received some certification.—Jonathan D. Glater, The New York Times

Chicago's green strategy praised by Sierra Club and Chamber alike

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley understands the benefits of conserving resources, saving energy, expanding parks, constructing environmentally sensitive buildings, reducing the amount of storm water, restoring wetlands, generating renewable energy and doing everything feasible to heal instead of harm the city's natural systems.—Keith Schneider, The New York Times

Sacrifice liberty for security? Not without a fight

"This is supposed to be America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

But I'm beginning to have my doubts, about the free part and the brave part, too."—Jay Bookman, deputy editorial page editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Postcards from the edge

Huge stone alcoves. T-shaped doorways. Villages accessible only by ladder.

Most people probably don't get their first glimpses of Mesa Verde National Park through a book, TV program or even a car window, but via a postcard.

No one knows how many cards have been produced since the first photographs of the Cliff Palace and other ruins were taken more than 100 years ago. But the number is well into the millions -- easily enough to have cemented Mesa Verde's place in the pantheon of national icons, right up there with the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty.

—by Jack Cox, The Denver Post

Welcome to Kanab! Or, maybe not

Most businesses in this southern Utah town have a tourism booster sticker in their front windows saying, "Everyone Welcome Here," which sounds pretty tame until you get to the little rainbow-colored people beneath the text. Are those little people gay?—by Kirk Johnson, The New York Times

Must Waco be another Houston?

Bill Franklin asks a good question in a guest column in the Waco Tribune-Herald. A better question would be, what qualities should we be measured by? We may agree that two Home Depot stores are enough. But how many college graduates? How vibrant a downtown? What percentage of families living above poverty level? How many citizens with health insurance? It seems that the answer to the question, "Must Waco be another Houston?" is definitely NO! But his question raises many other questions and it will take some thinking to answer them.

Chrysler expanding its ethanol model line

DaimlerChrysler AG pledged to build 500,000 ethanol-fuel vehicles annually, or a quarter of its U.S. production, by 2008, as automakers try to address concerns over heavy foreign oil consumption and high gas prices.

Thomas W. LaSorda, chief executive of Chrysler, made the pledge yesterday at a meeting of the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, where President Bush announced measures aimed at reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil. He encouraged production of ethanol-powered cars and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.—by Sholnn Freeman, Washington Post

Interview with Jane Jacobs

Read James Howard Kunstler's 2000 interview with Jane Jacobs from Metropolis Magazine, March 2001.

'Cities' author Jane Jacobs dies at 89

Jane Jacobs, an author and community activist of singular influence whose classic "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" transformed ideas about urban planning, died Tuesday. She was 89.

A native of Scranton, Pa., Jacobs lived for many years in New York before moving to Toronto in the late 1960s. She and her husband, architect Robert Jacobs Jr., were unhappy that their taxes supported the Vietnam War and turned to Canada as their permanent home. Robert Jacobs died in 1996.

Jacobs, who based her findings on deep, eclectic reading and firsthand observation, challenged assumptions she believed damaged modern cities — that neighborhoods should be isolated from each other, that an empty street was safer than a crowded one, that the car represented progress over the pedestrian.—by Hillel Italie, AP National Writer

Los Angeles with a downtown?

It isn't easy to create a real downtown district, vibrant and intense, in a city as sprawling and diffuse as Los Angeles, Frank Gehry admits. But that's what he has set out to do with his design for Grand Avenue.

The $750 million project, which includes the first high-rises he has ever designed for his hometown, is the first phase of a $1.8 billion development plan by the Related Companies that will remake Grand Avenue as a pedestrian-based gathering point.

"When we talk about L.A. having a downtown, it's a stretch, because L.A. is so spread out as a city," Mr. Gehry said in a telephone interview. "Our downtown probably is a linear one — Wilshire Boulevard or Sunset Boulevard."

He said his goal was "to develop the beginning of a community that has the body language of a community and has the scale of a community.—Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times

Democrats emphasize spending on education in addition to tax cuts

Texas House Democrats are attempting to outflank Gov. Rick Perry and Speaker Tom Craddick, both Republicans, by applying pressure to do more than just take a quick vote on a proposed tax overhaul next week.

On Thursday, Democrats filed legislation to spend billions on public education, including across-the-board teacher pay raises, reducing class sizes, updating textbooks and providing health insurance to all school personnel. They're readying for a battle to ensure their proposals are debated and voted on. And they are touting property tax cuts they say would treat every homeowner — rich or poor — the same.—by Laylan Copelin, Austin American-Statesman

President Carter's Earth Day message of hope

Fifty ways to help save the planet

Global warming is probably the greatest threat our species has ever faced. The sheer scale of the processes under way in the atmosphere and the oceans makes it hard not to view anything an individual does to reduce emissions as being too little too late. Not true. Read and try some of these ways to help save the planet.—by Henry Porter, Vanity Fair

Bush: 'I'm the decider' on Rumsfeld

"I listen to all voices, but mine is the final decision," (the President) said. "And Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He's not only transforming the military, he's fighting a war on terror. He's helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld. I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."—CNN

Helping save prickly victims of development

The operation began military-style at the crack of dawn. Bearing welders' gloves, shovels and tweezers for medical emergencies, the brigade of 40 moved across the desert, undaunted by rattlers, in single-minded pursuit of their well-defended targets. It was the 141st mission of the Cactus Rescue Crew, and its challenge could be seen nearby, where whirling sprinklers signaled another "championship golf fairway" under construction, another "active adult master-planned community" in progress.—By Patricia Leigh Brown, The New York Times