‘Our Erie’ Tells Its Story
As we’ve been working away on our book based on our “American Futures” travels over the past four years, my wife Deb and I have increasingly come to think of Erie, Pennsylvania,…
Economic Development
221 posts
‘Let’s Care About Someone Who Does Not Belong to Our Tribe’
We could use a little positive news at the moment, right? Here you go: Over the past three years we’re written a lot about Fresno in general, one of the unglamorous…
A Big Step for Little Eastport
A new life for the Seacoast Canning Company
All Progress Is Local: New Year’s Notes From Around the Country
New Year's Notes from Around the Country
Returning to Ohio
How a small, Midwestern town has changed over the decades—and where it aims to go
Missing Thanksgiving Day
When you are an American living overseas, Thanksgiving is an even more powerful nationally unifying holiday than the Fourth of July. All the Americans know something special is going on;…
Update on the Eastport Saga
The never-say-die city
Annals of Renewal: MTP Podcast, Knight Competition
1) Meet the Press podcast. Yesterday afternoon I spoke with Chuck Todd for his podcast; the segment has gone up today, and you can find it here on Soundcloud or here from the MTP…
The Generational Difference in Optimism: A Video Look
Older People Moan, Younger People Hope
And Now for Something Saner and More Positive: Fresno, Erie
Not to over-personalize, but I feel as if my life in the past few weeks recapitulates the argument my wife Deb and I have been making in our American Futures travels.…
The Ebbs and Flows of Coastal Maine
Quoddy Village was built ahead of its time
Erie’s Unlikely Benefactor: Its Casino
Legalized gambling is a familiar part of the modern American landscape. But an innovative scheme in a lakeside city in western Pennsylvania shows new possibilities for putting casino revenue to positive public use.
Cattle Drives in Down East Maine
Last night my wife Deb put up a report called “Little Town, Big Art.” It’s about how a surprisingly ambitious effort in The Arts—painting, sculpture, photography, drama, music, festivals (like…
Little Town, Big Art
“The arts” might seem a frill or nicety. In Eastport, Maine, they’ve been at the center of economic and civic plans and have helped the little city “punch above its weight.”
The World Comes to a Tiny Town
Eastport's Lesson in Globalization
Eastport Update: Electric Power from the Sea
Generation from currents