Housing Affordability and the Demise of Starter Homes

September 25, 2022 Today’s NY Times included a good article on the demise of the “starter home” in the United States. Whatever Happened to the Starter Home? – The New York Times (nytimes.com) This article struck a chord with me because of my work on affordable housing – which is harder to find and has … Read more

Addressing Climate Change: A Big Job

02/15/2021 I’m not going to write a long post today, because taking a dive into how our society can effectively respond to climate change would take a treatise or two. It would require a discussion of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — the agreement struck in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit — … Read more

Free Speech in the Age of Big Tech

01/23/2021 We’re approaching an interesting point in debate over freedom of speech in the age of big-tech-driven social media. Social media is both liberating and destructive. Platforms enable more human interaction than ever. The ability to collaborate and exchange ideas with a broad range of people around the world is critical for our survival and … Read more

Covid-19: Jumping the Line for Vaccination?

01/01/2021 Happy New Year. 2020 was a challenging year. 2021 will have its new set of challenges. Foreign Policy reported on a story bubbling at the US State Department that certain Trump administration political appointees were jumping to the head of the line to receive covid-19 vaccinations. Of course there were official denials, but where … Read more

Issue: Transparency – Government Information

04/10/2012 Last night I gave a presentation on Missouri’s open records and meetings law to a group of elected officials. I opened with a quote from President James Madison, who on August 4, 1822, stated: “A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or … Read more