Did you notice on Wednesday that Houston Street officially transitioned from a one-way to a two-way street?
If you have ever been at the intersection of 11th and Houston, you likely saw someone relatively new to the area going the wrong way.
So converting the one-way road to two-way traffic got me thinking in terms of perspective.
Trump. Youth sports all-star teams. The environment. The economy. Downtown scooters. (Well, as long as downtown scooters don't get their own lanes. That would be a one-way idea. And a stupid one.)
The back and forth of a two-way conversation has never been more important.
You remember those conversations right? Those exchanges in which you speak, I listen. Then I speak and you listen?
I looked for that at the Hamilton County Commission meeting on Wednesday.
Ears open, pen at the ready. Hey, we're in the budget season, and there are ever-louder whispers about possible tax increases. This is a juicy time for local government discussions.
A tax increase conversation did not happen. Rest assured, however, that Tim Boyd fulfilled his weekly obligation to take a shot at the Convention and Visitors Bureau. (Side note: If we had County Commission Bingo, and your card had "Pledge of Allegiance" in the middle square, other than "County Clerk Bill Knowles being a true gentleman," the best square to have would be "Boyd throws stones at CVB.")
Still, looking at the two-way streets of the biggest decision for local leaders and taxpayers remained: Can you simultaneously demand better schools and hate any and all tax increases?
Philosophically, you could, I guess. Practically, not so much.
Now, you may oppose a tax increase more strongly than you feel the need for better public schools. That's fine.
We all hear the talk about how well the economy is doing. And we see it in the circulated budget requests that include pay increases for all employees. (Side note, part II: Psst, governmental types, cut phrases like "across-the-board raises" from your pitch for more tax money. Those types of increases are as rare as Buffalo nickels in most workplaces and no one believes "everyone" is doing such an outstanding job that they deserve a raise).
None of us want to pay more taxes. Not you. Not me. Not county Mayor Jim Coppinger. This is in no way an endorsement of a tax increase.
But there are real issues around the county. Needs have grown over the years as previous regimes have kicked the can down the road on so many issues.
I believe that, and as a father of two children in public schools, I really hope that a big increase for school district operations, if approved, will lead to far better results.
Sadly, I do not believe that.
Not when the system is asking for more money while doing away with other fees. Not when the system is focused on buzz words like equity rather than excellence. Not when no one at the Central Office is going to tell me how this budget increase will fix things for the next decade and not become an annual ask of elected leaders.
Which brings me to this, as a columnist, a citizen, a parent and a proud member of this community:
I am open to paying more if you can convince me that it will make our schools (all schools, from the high-performing ones to the low-performing ones) better - sooner rather than later.
But I am going to need way more than buzz words and hope and a couple of think-tank opinions to get me there.
That path is a two-way street everyone in Hamilton County would be happy to navigate.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.