In Part I we looked at how John Naisbitt’s predictions in his 1982 book, “Megatrends,” had played out in Jackson, Mississippi. In this column we will look at his 10 predictions in the context of the broader society. Each prediction or forecast or direction, whichever you like to label them, is listed followed by a brief commentary on what happened. ...

Tourism is on a roll. Although international visitors to the United States is down, domestic tourism continues to climb. Several states posted record tourism numbers. Ohio drew 219 million tourism visits in 2017, up from 212 million the previous year, and saw direct spending rise by $1 billion to $35 billion, according to TourismOhio. Governor Rick Scott said that Florida ...

Economic and community development have seemingly passed motherhood and apple pie as the “American” thing. When was the last time you heard a candidate for public office proclaim his or objection to economic development?  But exactly what is economic development?  Or community development for that matter? The term “economic development” was hardly used before World War II, although the concept has been ...

Depending on the perspective, there are good streets and not-so-good streets.  And then there are great streets.  This writer has a bias toward streets that are canopied. In Mississippi, that means streets that have treetops over them. Some streets in Ocean Springs, Jackson and Laurel come to mind. This column is about great streets as defined by the Project for ...

Amazon’s method of inviting cities to bid for its second headquarters is the top story in economic development news these days. It is fascinating to see cities responding with expensive and sometimes wild offers to be the one that is selected. I suppose you can’t blame them. Every public official wants more good job in their communities. So much so ...

Ask members of a group to name the characteristics of a good leader, and don’t be surprised when the usual descriptions come up: visionary, listener, communicator, ethical, trustworthy, etc. I’ve been doing such an exercise with groups for a long time. Lately, I’ve noticed that a certain characteristic has moved from the middle of the list to near the top. ...

Dear Mayor: I’m writing to let you know that my spouse and I have recently decided to relocate to another community. We are in our mid-50’s and have income over $200,000 per year. We plan on buying a house in the city. It will be in the $600,000 range. We are in excellent health and have no children. We travel ...

How much did you tip the server the last time you had a good meal in a restaurant? Who do you think gets to keep that tip? Would you change the amount you tip if the server did not get it all? The answer to these questions depends on several things, not the least of which is a U.S. Labor ...

  Mayors of just about all small towns are part-time individuals interested and willing to serve their communities. They do not get paid very much and most are not holders of college degrees in economic or community development. They learn quickly that there is a lot to learn about being the CEO of a small town. One of the many ...

It’s been a while since I had a chance to visit with former Pelahatchie Mayor Knox Ross so I reached out to him online. Here’s my interview with the personable and accomplished Ross. What are you doing these days? I am completing an 11-month assignment as the CEO of the Coordinating and Development Corporation in Shreveport. The CDC is an ...