Chris Hardie's Weblog

Jason Truitt, Online Editor of the Palladium-Item newspaper here in Richmond, recently asked what readers are looking for when they ask for more "local news." My response:
For me, a good local news story is one that reflects the things that are happening and the experiences people are having in and around our city and [...]

Links of recent interest:

Richmond Indiana Images of Home - a brief video slideshow with photos by Jim Hair and music by Brian Wallen.
VotePoke.com - Are you registered to vote? Are you sure?
Web Masters - Earlham College's recent Alumni Spotlight article featuring myself and Mark.
Finding the Time and Place to Do What's Important - another [...]

Earlier tonight I had the honor of being a guest speaker at the monthly meeting for the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County's board of directors, presenting a version of my talk on how we can build a more self-reliant Richmond, Indiana in the face of peaking availability of natural energy resources, global climate change, [...]

Today marked the last day of the 2008 Earlham College Senior Disorientation event, which helps soon-to-graduate college seniors to transition to the "real world" more smoothly. I've been participating in the event as a speaker/workshop facilitator since it began, and it's always an interesting experience to interact with "the Earlham kids" with an ever-increasing [...]

As they are seemingly wont to do, another locally owned coffee shop, Charlie's Coffee Bar and Gallery, has closed its doors. Sigh.
This is not an isolated incident. This is not a bump in the road on the way to a better Richmond. These things must not go unconsidered in the context of [...]

The Story of Stuff - "From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns."
The Official Blog of [...]

This is interesting: former Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County President Don Holbrook, who was fired from the organization a few years ago in an unfortunate controversy, has released a self-published book about economic development tips and strategies. Titled "The Little Black Book of Economic Development," Holbrook says the book has information about the [...]

As I mentioned when I came back from the energy conference in October, I was going to give a talk in November called "Going Local: Building a Self-Reliant Richmond, Indiana". I had agreed to speak earlier in the year and didn't really know what I was going to talk about beyond the expectation that [...]

The 2007 Wayne County Alternative Gift Fair, held at the new Reid Hospital today, has just concluded. It was a great opportunity to get gifts for family and friends in the form of donations to local non-profit organizations, and at least for me, a great alternative to a day at the mall buying stuff. [...]

If you follow the news over at The Richmond Coffee Shop Times, you have probably heard by now that Sacred Grounds is closing at the end of next week. The Summersault staff had a last (or perhaps-second-to-last) hurrah lunch there today, and as the cashier was ringing up the bill I asked what they'd [...]