rants and raves
Well, I’ve abandoned you for many months, haven’t I? If you’ve not completely given up on me, it feels mean annoying inevitable appropriate to subject you to a baby rave about the municipal economic development strategic plan I’ve been researching, writing, and generally freaking out about if you had the misfortune of asking me how I was doing in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty-four. And, if I’m being completely honest, I’m a little burnt out on writing! I have nothing intelligent left to say until 2025.
Transitioning into an economic development role in the context of local government—not to mention the local government of my hometown—has been equal parts exciting and discombobulating. For the lack of a better descriptor, it’s been very cool to get a real sense of how policymaking advances locally and the sheer volume of people-power behind the policies, programs, and daily operations of a city. That I’m engaging with this work in a place where I have deep personal roots has meant a good deal of challenging my own perceptions about our region’s growth, and I think it’s also opened me up to the reality that places we love change. Communities can and should take measures to ensure that change doesn’t translate to residential displacement or the shuttering of local businesses or a generally unsavory ~vibe shift~. But viewing growth as something we can manage and influence—not merely as this no-good phenomenon that happens to and around us—is motivating for me personally when I think about the pursuit of economic equity and mobility in Northwest Arkansas.
I’ve started posing the questions “What do you love most about your neighborhood?” and “What do you want or need more of in your neighborhood?” when we do public engagement at local events, and these responses have heavily influenced the way I think about policymaking and city-building.
Economic development is an evolving field with a fair amount of baggage (e.g., smokestack chasing, employer incentive package arms racing). It can, however, encompass a lot of the policy topics that fundamentally condition a community’s quality of life. I’m especially pumped about the data-informed, resident-centric work we’re about to kick off when it comes to expanding the role that municipalities can play in crafting and implementing early childhood education and housing policy at the local and regional level.
consumption corner
reading
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney: I have several complaints to lodge against Ms. Rooney’s fourth novel, chief among them that I broke my self-imposed no-new-book-buying streak to acquire this dud of a tome. I was particularly struck by the extent to which the story is stripped from a sense of place, which bleeds into lopsided character development across the board. At the risk of being reductive, it’s as though in committing to center the novel around the various shades of love experienced/observed/felt by two men, Rooney absolved herself from the project of giving them anything other than one-dimensional women to interact with (sad younger girlfriend, sad older girlfriend, overwhelmed mean mom, underwhelmed mean mom). It’s like a weird reverse Uno of the man-written-by-a-woman effect.
Your favorite public servant’s favorite public technologist questions what a recent home invasion means (The San Francisco Standard): Code for America founder and former Obama-era Deputy CTO
penned a particularly thoughtful piece recounting a break-in at her home in Oakland. Couched in an eerily delightful Talking Heads reference, the story follows Pahlka’s reflections during the two-day period it takes for Oakland PD—known for having some of the worst emergency response times in the nation—to respond to her 911 call after she encountered an intruder in her bedroom. The piece is rife with a level of empathy we should all aspire to, but I’m most struck by her response to the officer her apologizes for the unforgivable delay in response.
Millennials are (illiquid and) wealthier than previous generations, but wealth inequality? Nevertheless, she persists. (WSJ): I’m definitively a millennial-Gen Z cusper as a mid-90s baby, but I claim authority on this matter given that all of the adults in my life growing up labeled me a millennial and that I’ve sworn off jeans altogether because I can’t find a suitable non-skinny jean fit. It’s curious that millennials have generationally sunk their dollars into real estate in spite of the specter of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. This reality is further complicated by the fact that some folks have started to draw early parallels between the student loan asset-backed securities (SLABS or SLOAs) market and the subprime mortgage securities that toppled the U.S. economy. Alongside the transition from federally subsidized loans to direct federal loans, new loan (re)financing options from nontraditional private lenders and de-risking (or more accurately, risk-shifting) strategies have further complicated the landscape. Is the Millennial American Dream really just golden handcuffs? Big sad if true.
watching
The English Teacher (FX/Hulu): Series creator and protagonist Brian Jordan Alvarez’s rich southern aunt series was a pandemic-era favorite for me, and The English Teacher has similarly had me gleefully rewinding and replaying scenes. If this show is not renewed for a second season, I will simply perish.
listening
DJ Diesel aka Dr. Shaquille O’Neal, Ed.D.: Thanks to a last minute ticket hookup, I found myself leaving a wedding rehearsal dinner to go straight to see Shaq’s DJ set. As I stood at the back of the room watching Shaq take selfies with Kyle Cooke from Summerhouse and Loverboy fame and eating my unfair share of Shaq-A-Licious gummies, I couldn’t help but wonder what went through Shaq’s mind as he was driven through the series of small shopping centers that are Uptown Fayetteville on his way to JJ’s Live. Did he eat at Wright’s Barbecue or Pizzeria Ruby in Johnson on his way from the airport? Why didn’t he stay for the LSU game? We may never know.1
chef’s kiss
I recently spent some time in Denver for a friend’s 30th birthday. A few gustatory highlights:
A decadent patty melt from The Grateful Gnome (I am constantly chasing a Restaurant on the Corner patty melt dream)
A superb croque madame from Kitchen Bistro, which I unfortunately later learned is co-owned by Elon Musk’s brother Kimbel :,(
The best margarita I have ever had in my life and tacos at TAKIZA
A big, gluttonous bowl of bolognese at Mediterranean restaurant Rioja
A life-saving hotdog at the Denver Botanical Gardens
bless your heart (pejorative)
climate change?
I can think of exactly two times in my life when I’ve been instructed to shelter in place from a tornado, and one just so happened to be last week. In late October. In Fayetteville. But when chief meteorologist Dan Skoff speaks, I listen. I do not like this!2
i love the internet
Love you, miss you, talk soon!
I am still processing Shaq’s shitty comments on Angel Reese’s podcast.
As I was writing this, we’re now at number 3!