It’s a late October evening. The Saints are playing the Vikings on television. On another channel, the Red Sox are playing the Dodgers in what will be the final game of the World Series. As the players are introduced, photos of their faces appear in little boxes in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Looking at those faces, it was ...

Did you lose your property because of a tax sale? Did you buy property at a tax sale in August? Did your mortgage company pay your real estate taxes? There are two times during any given calendar year that the subject of unpaid property taxes is certain to make the news. The first is February-March, when the list of properties ...

PHIL HARDWICK Our plane landed on schedule at Iceland’s modern Keflavik International Airport. It was in early afternoon on a midsummer’s day. The weather was cloudy; the temperature in the upper 50’s. Unlike most countries my wife and I have visited there was no customs check-in. We simply picked up or bags and caught our pre-arranged bus to downtown Reykjavik, ...

PHIL HARDWICK Ten years ago I wrote a column in which I offered 10 things that I believe will shape the future of housing and communities. It’s time for a checkup. 1. (Prediction) Increased use of technology in houses – Energy management, security, mood settings and efficient use of all things mechanical and electrical in our houses has been around ...

PHIL HARDWICK The fall academic semester approaches. If you are successful in business there’s a good chance that sooner or later you will be asked to speak to a college class about your company or a current business issue. The experience can be personally rewarding or a flop. I’ve been teaching as an adjunct professor/instructor at the college level since ...

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 ...