A rose to program director Beverly Norris and the Columbus Arts Council, which continues to provide our community a range of outstanding programs in the arts of all kinds.
Last weekend, for example, the CAC provided the Possum Town Tales Storytelling Festival, which seems to get better every year since its start in 2012. This year’s event, featuring Bill Lepp, Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr. and Columbus native Jim Lavender, created a buzz like no previous festival.
On Thursday gospel/jazz vocalist, Nathan Best, formerly of The O’ Jays, played before an enthusiastic audience. These events serve as a reminder: When this old world starts to getting you down, there’s a place to go that’s trouble-free — the CAC’s Rosenzweig Arts Center.
A rose to TVA for expanding its incentive programs to encourage economic development.
After 10 years of providing an incentive program to help homeowners make their homes more energy-efficient, TVA has two new programs geared to bringing those incentives to commercial properties. TVA will offer a 10-cent-per-kilowatt hour rebate for businesses that “add load,” either through expansion, moving in to vacant buildings or adding production lines. Those rebates, good for a full year, means thousands of dollars in savings and could help stimulate growth. Likewise, the New Home program offers up to $1,000 to home builders for installation of electric or dual-system heating and water heaters, again a move that encourages new building. These incentives, by themselves, will not create growth, but they are important contributors in that growth. Every bit of encouragement is important as we look to grow our local economy.
A rose to the Columbus Housing Authority for putting together a wide-ranging event focused on helping people become homeowners.
The demand for affordable housing far outstrips the number of homes/apartments available. Rather than simply turning people away, CHA director Debra Taylor, with the help of sponsor Bancorp South, is putting together a comprehensive one-day event that will provide would-be homeowners with everything they need to know about qualifying for home ownership. Dozens of experts will be on hand to provide information and answer questions during the first Columbus-Lowndes Housing America Initiative, set for Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Trotter Convention Center.
A rose to Main Street Columbus for its sponsorship of Downtown Columbus Art Walk Thursday evening.
Downtown was brimming with folks visiting businesses, perusing the work of local artists, enjoying the sounds of local musicians and simply savoring our jewel of a downtown on an almost perfect fall evening.
A developer new to downtown told us last week, “Man, there is a lot going on downtown. I had no idea.”
We agree, and if you haven’t lately, we encourage you to come downtown and see for yourself.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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