Spartanburg City News

This week on the podcast, we're talking about what most everybody in Downtown Spartanburg is talking about these days: the . Last week, after our selection committee had whittled down the original pool of nearly 60 applicants,  for this unique competition to bring three new businesses to Main Street. To put it plainly, we (being Spartanburg-boosting dorks) are giddy about the great concepts these potential entrepreneurs have brought to the table, and if there's one disappointment, it's that in the end, there can be only three winners.    And that's where things get even more exciting, with the seven finalists set to make their final pitches to the judges at a public event being held at The Showroom on May 22 at 6:30 p.m., after which the final winners will be announced. Tickets for the "Main Event" are $5 and are on sale now. You can buy them online by , or at The Showroom on the night of the event (). Proceeds from the sale will go to the crowd favorite to be picked at the event.

If you've been staying up to date on Spartanburg city news lately, you've probably heard at least something about the the dispute between Spartanburg Water and the City over the $1.4 million annual dividend payment made by the city resident-owned utility (if not, ). Discussions have continued, and while progress has been made, a resolution to the dispute still hasn't been reached.    Ahead of public forums being held this Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the , and Thursday at 7 p.m. at , we sat down with Assistant City Manager Chris Story to get the latest on this very important issue, and how it affects you. At the forums, City Council members and staff will be on hand to answer questions and hear residents' concerns.   So give a listen to the podcast, and come out to one of the public forums and let your voice be heard.

There are cycling races, and then there's "The Crit." On Friday, May 3 cyclists will race around a half-mile loop of Downtown at speeds fast enough to literally make your head spin as you try to keep up with the action in the .   If you've never seen this exciting event, you've been missing out. This week on the podcast our special guest Anne Piacentino from  joins us to talk a little about what you might've been missing, and to give us the rundown on what else is going on in Spartanburg on the pedal-powered front for May, which is National Bike Month.

New B-Cycle Stations at Wofford and Converse Colleges. Joint agreements allowing the public to use school playgrounds in the City. Spring is here, and the options for getting outside just keep growing. This week on the roundtable with Hub-Bub Executive Director Cate Ryba and Showroom Director Stephen Long, we talk active living in Spartanburg, and look forward to some great events coming up for Bike Month in May. Listen and enjoy!

Unless you're new to Spartanburg, you've most likely, at some point in the past few years or so, heard of an organzation called . But what is Hub-Bub? If you're not "in the know," you might not have any idea, but after today it'll be safe to officially call yourself an expert. On this podcast, we sit down with the organization's Executive Director, Cate Ryba (also member of City Council) and the Hub-Bub Showroom Director, Stephen Long to talk about the organization's history, and its place in the local community.   Along the way we also get the skinny on some of Hub-Bub's great events coming up in the next few weeks, including a  featuring a presentation by a member of our fearless podcasting duo, City Communications Manager Will Rothschild. Listen and Enjoy!

When most people think about tourism, they likely think of pristine beaches or majestic mountainous landscapes, but when  Executive Director Chris Jennings things about tourism, he thinks about sporting events like the Carolina Panthers Training Camp, held annually at Wofford College, and about a historical downtown walking tour for Spartanburg, and about our area's vast agricultural wealth. This week on the podcast, we sit down with Jennings to learn a bit about the huge impact tourism has on our local economy each year, and what the CVB and the City are doing in partnership to make sure that impact keeps growing.

It's been 20 years since first got going down at Denny's Plaza on East Main, and while some things never change, like the great music and family-friendly atmosphere, the location for Spartanburg's favorite after-work social gathering is changing, moving to the heart of downtown at  in the grassy area beside the iconic Downtown Clock tower. Additionally, the start time for the event has been moved back 30 minutes to 5:30 p.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m.    The change bring's Music on Main into the center of the action in Downtown Spartanburg, within easy walking distance of 19 different restaurants and bars, allowing folks who come out for the music to get some great grub afterwards. And with at the Magnolia Street Parking Garage (literally, a 2-minute walk from the new location), getting there couldn't be easier.   Sitting down with us to talk about this year's Music on Main Series, which , is City Special Events Manager Mandy Merck. Along the way, we also talk about some other events going on downtown as Sprin

On parts  and  of our conversation with Council member Linda Dogan, we learned about her history growing up in Spartanburg and about her hopes for the future for our city's Northside. We round things out on this week's episode with a discussion about the history behind the , and the City's plans to build a replacement. Council member Dogan shares her thoughts, and her hopes for this new center destined to serve the residents of the Northside she loves and calls home.

Last week, on  with  Linda Dogan, we learned about her experiences growing up during turbulent times in Spartanburg, and how that shaped a desire within her for social justice, ultimately leading to a life of public service.   On part two of our conversation, we talk with Dogan more about the Northside in a broader sense, focusing on her perspective as City Council's longest-serving member. We learn how her roots, first put down during an era of segregation and divisiveness, have grown into a desire for a more inclusive and just City, and about some of Dogan's hopes for the future of the area she calls home.

This week on the podcast we sit down for part one of an extended onversation with  Linda Dogan. This week, we learn about what drives Spartanburg's longest serving City Council member to serve. As a lifelong resident of the City's north side Dogan's story is a Spartanburg story, through and through, and tells of a time when the legacy of segregation was still very much alive. It's an absolutely fascinating look into the life of an elected official who, since well before her days on Council, has made the fight for social justice the cornerstone of her life. 

Technology-minded entrepreneurs working on ideas in the health care industry might soon be looking to a new Spartanburg business accelerator to get the boost they need to turn that idea into a sustainable business. Greenville-based accelerator, The Iron Yard is set to open a location in Downtown later this year in the same building that currently houses arts organization, Hub-Bub and local restaurant, Zarza. The accelerator program will run for three months each year, and will offer selected entrepreneurs $20,000 in seed funding as well as mentoring and access to potential investors.   Additionally, The Iron Yard will include year-round space for , allowing local, independent creative workers an opportunity to connect with each other while working in an open office environment conducive to collaboration.   On this week's podcast, we sit down with Kate McCarthy, The Iron Yard's Spartanburg Program Manager, to get an overview of the exciting opportunities this program will bring to our city. So give a listen, a

The Northside Initiative. You've probably read about it lately, but what are the nuts and bolts this potentially massive redevelopment of one of our city's most impoverished areas? Where did the "green shoots of significant, sustainable community revitalization" talked about by former Spartanburg Mayor William Barnet originate, and what's the way forward from here? On this week's podcast we sit down with Community Services Director Mitch Kennedy to ask those questions and a few more. So listen, learn, and then let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

It's a new year in Spartanburg, and in order to know where we're going, take a look at where we've been. To get the real picture of where we are at the beginning of 2013, take at the tremendous progress made not just in 2012, but also in the years before.   On this podcast, we do just that, picking up where we left off last week, discussing how far we've come since the Great Recession four years ago. One glaring difference between now and then: the new sense of forward-looking optimism emerging in our community, and how that gradually has begun to translate into increasingly bigger and better developments for Spartanburg. What does that mean for 2013? Well, we'd never be foolish enough to claim to know for sure (), but what we do know is that our city has the flexibility and creativity to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that lay ahead.

The gifts have all been given, the food eaten, and the belt subsequently loosened; the mad holiday marathon has finally come to an end. So as we all nurse our tinsel-filled Christmas hangovers and get back to the grind of these last few days of 2012, it's worth looking back on the last 12 months to see where they've taken us.  From putting challenges like the City's legacy pension system and the old Arkwright Dump behind us, to the grand opening of Stewart Park and the huge success of Skating on the Square, it's been quite a year in our City, and taken by themselves, those issues are easy enough to explain. The real question, the one that we'd be remiss not to ask is: How do the accomplishments and progress made in 2012 fit into the larger vision for Spartanburg as we move into a new year? What direction did 2012 see our City taking? For a podcast this ambitious, clearly we were going to need the big guns, so we got the two most knowledgable people around to put it all in perspective for us, City Manager Ed

Since his election to Council in 2011, District 1 Council member Sterling Anderson has made increasing parks and recreation options on the west side one of his defining issues. On this week's podcast, we sit down with the and talk with Anderson about some of the projects he'd like to see the City take on, including as well as possible park options at the Downtown Airport.   Along the way, we also talk about ways to make our area more pedestrian friendly, pointing to the recently completed as an example of how making room for bicycle and pedestrian traffic is an important way to help our city thrive. 

In a 4-3 vote on Monday, sometime in the Fall of 2013. Council member Sterling Anderson, who voted with the majority to close the facility, joins us on the podcast to talk about his decision, some of the misconceptions he's heard about the Swim Center, and about posibilities for the future of parks and recreation facilities in the City, including the possibility of incorporating a new indoor swimming facility into the construction of the new T.K. Gregg Center. 

The is set to get underway early next year. On this week's podcast, we give you the lowdown on the City's latest economic development program.   The challenge is designed to help three entrepreneurs open new businesses next year by providing a cash incentive of $12,000 to be used as rent assistance in a downtown location pre-identified by the City and the property owner. The selection process will include several phases, with six finalists ultimately presenting detailed business plans to the selection committee. In addition to the $12,000 incentive provided by the City, additional in-kind incentives -- such as marketing assistance, printing, etc. -- will be provided to each winner by local businesses who have agreed to participate.   What kind of businesses will win the challenge? A new restaurant? An ice cream shop? A vintage arcade and game room? We have no idea, and even taking a guess would undoubtedly show how unequal we are to the task of matching our citizens' imagination. In short, prepare to be wowe

Wouldn't it be great if the Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail connected to Downtown? It's , and now there may be an answer to that and many other questions Spartanburg residents have about creating new opportunities for outdoor recreation, while expanding on our existing options. Last week, a broad group of community stakeholders  the first draft of an exciting plan to more than double the number of miles in the Spartanburg metro area dedicated to trails and greenways. After studying an area that runs north to south from Boiling Springs to Old Canaan Road, and west to east from Interstate 26 to the Pacolet River, the group settled on nine priority projects that would create a web of trails and greenways for pedestrians and cyclists, linking the entire metro area of Spartanburg by using existing trails and by building new ones. Joining us to talk about the new Trails and Greenways Master Plan, and what it means for Spartanburg, are Council member Cate Ryba and Partners for Active Living Executive Director Laura

What do the former , , and  all have in common? All three are major redevelopment projects going on in Downtown Spartanburg right now. Assistant City Manager Chris Story joins us again for the final segment in this podcast series, breaking down what these important projects mean for our city. Along the way, he uses awesomely wonky phrases like "adaptive reuse of existing structures," which, in case you're not a total nerd like we are, just means old buildings being upfitted for new stuff. As it happens, that new stuff is good stuff. It's the kind of stuff that brings more people, more energy, and more enthusiasm to our downtown.   So kick back, listen, and take this opportunity to feel really good about yourself for having the good judgment to call our impressively redevelopment-minded city home.

Following on the heels of yesterday's conversation about the Arkwright Dump, part two of our series of podcast conversations with Assistant City Manager Chris Story takes on another weighty issue, one that currently is awaiting the direction of City Council. In this podcast, Story gives us the facts about the center's usage and the resources it requres, the same facts that Coucil will ultimately use in making the difficult decision about the fate of the Swim Center.