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September 2008

Someone Please Tell Me If I’ve Lost My Mind

Posted by Chris Berry on September 30, 2008 in Introversion, Purely Personal

I started this blog in March, primarily to occupy my time while I was unemployed. My original intention was to focus on local economic development issues, but over time I’ve strayed from that path and written about everything from healthcare to introversion. It has provided me with an opportunity to carefully formulate my thoughts on [...]

Does Anyone Care If This Guy Is Happy?

Posted by Chris Berry on September 29, 2008 in Roanoke Valley

The recent controversies surrounding the Market Building have brought a great deal of attention to the fate of the food court vendors. While they have received constant media attention and the obvious sympathy of the mayor, the plight of another downtown business owner has gone virtually unnoticed by the public or by city officials. The [...]

Chico Was Not Happy Last Night

Posted by Chris Berry on September 26, 2008 in Local Politics, Roanoke Valley

I attended the public forum on the Market Building last night, and to sum it up as succinctly as possible, I would describe it as a complete waste of time. The session was promoted as an opportunity for the public to share their thoughts with city officials, but since only a handful of council members [...]

A Few More Thoughts On Miller’s Hill

Posted by Chris Berry on September 25, 2008 in Economic Development, Roanoke Valley

If you’re not already familiar with the Miller’s Hill redevelopment effort on the 400 block of Day Avenue, please check out my previous post to get up to speed on the basic facts. I’ve been in contact with a couple of Miller’s Hill homeowners since that article appeared, and I had the chance to spend [...]

Blame The Filth, Not The City

Posted by Chris Berry on September 24, 2008 in Roanoke Valley

I had not planned to write anything else on the Market building for a while, but there is one nagging point that I feel the need to address. The rodent infestation issue has been covered pretty thoroughly by the Roanoke Times and the local TV stations, and the more we learn from these sources, the [...]

Why I Stay In Roanoke

Posted by Chris Berry on September 23, 2008 in Purely Personal, Roanoke Valley

Even though I have been unemployed for the past six months, the idea of leaving Roanoke to seek opportunities elsewhere has rarely entered my mind. In my younger days I was always prepared to pack up and relocate to take advantage of an opportunity for career advancement. This quest led me to a number of [...]

Abandoned Downtown Landmarks Call For Creative Solutions

Posted by Chris Berry on September 22, 2008 in Economic Development, Roanoke Valley

I’ve watched with great interest over the past couple of years as downtown Roanoke has undergone the beginnings of a renaissance. The return of two-way traffic has brought Campbell Avenue back to life, and a number of high profile projects are transforming the Jefferson Street corridor from the railroad tracks all the way to South [...]

Council Makes Another Surprising Decision

Posted by Chris Berry on September 18, 2008 in Local Politics, Roanoke Valley

The headlines following the city council meeting on Monday were all about the acrimonious debates over Countryside and the Reserve Avenue amphitheater site. There were several other items on the agenda that day that received little to no media coverage. Among them was my application for a vacant seat on the Economic Development Authority.
I have [...]

Last Word On The Market Building, For Now

Posted by Chris Berry on September 17, 2008 in Local Politics, Roanoke Valley

I hadn’t planned to write anything else on the Market Building controversy, but I received a nasty dissenting comment on a previous post this morning that changed my mind.
Oh yes Chris, blame the tenants for the disrepair, not the landlord. That makes perfect sense. Yes it is Chico’s fault that the city has shown [...]

Why Chico’s Happiness Shouldn’t Matter

Posted by Chris Berry on September 14, 2008 in Local Politics, Roanoke Valley

Much of the debate over the future of the Market Building has focused on the fate of the existing food court vendors. Our mayor has even gone so far as to state that the concerns of the vendors should take precedence over any other aspect of the building’s rehabilitation. “When Chico is happy, I will [...]

When Chico Is Happy, I Will Be Happy

Posted by Chris Berry on September 13, 2008 in Local Politics, Roanoke Valley

“When Chico is happy, I will be happy”. That was the response from Mayor David Bowers to the recently rejected proposal by the Coalition For The Roanoke City Market to renovate the historic Market Building. The mayor was referring to the owner of Chico’s Big Lick Pizza, a long-time tenant of the food court. The [...]

Who Really Runs The City?

Posted by Chris Berry on September 11, 2008 in Local Politics, Roanoke Valley

I’ve been waiting for an outpouring of anger and disbelief in the editorial pages and the blogs for the last several days, and it’s amazing to me that it hasn’t materialized. Am I the only one who finds it hard to believe that our elected members of the city council recently voted to reject a [...]

Revisiting The Oregon Plan: The Future Of Healthcare In America?

Posted by Chris Berry on September 8, 2008 in Elections and Voting, Healthcare

Americans seem to have a difficult time coming to terms with the notion that our resources are finite. This is made obvious by the fact that we choose nine-passenger SUVs for our daily commutes, and by the incredibly naïve manner in which citizens and politicians alike debate healthcare policy. An alarming percentage of Americans seem [...]

Turning Words Into Actions

Posted by Chris Berry on September 5, 2008 in Economic Development, Roanoke Valley

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have been an outspoken critic of a number of recent economic development initiatives in the city of Roanoke. Rather than simply complaining, I’ve always tried to present alternatives that in my opinion represent more effective uses of our tax dollars. I’ve made a sincere effort to [...]

A Tale Of Two Neighborhoods

Posted by Chris Berry on September 4, 2008 in Economic Development, Roanoke Valley

This article originally appeared on the Star City Harbinger website.
The City of Roanoke suffers from a severe case of multiple personality disorder when it comes to economic development issues. We hear a great deal of talk about the need for the city to be hip, cool and green in order to attract young professionals, while [...]