Spartanburg City News

Having  after winning election to the District 6 seat in November, Erica Brown is one of two new members to join Spartanburg City Council this year. Recently, we got the chance to sit down and get to know a little about Brown and the local issues she's passionate about, including the Northside Intiative and downtown development. Listen below and enjoy!

Here on the City Podcast, we've devoted a lot of time to the Northside Initiative. We've given our listeners a  and some of the challenges facing our neighbors there, and heard  about why the Northside matters for the future of our city. All the while, we've tried to convey the enormous scale and importance of this crucial redevelopment effort. This week though, it's your turn to tell us what you think. On January 9–11 at Green Street Baptist Church, a series of community planning workshops will be held as part of the planning process for the Northside Initiative. These workshops, which are free and open to the public, will provide the public with both an opportunity to learn more about various facets of the initiative, and more importantly to have a say in what this part of our city will ultimately look like. Today on the podcast, we delve into what folks can expect from this workshop series with Community Services Director Mitch Kennedy. Listen to learn more, and for a full schedule of this week's workshops

On parts  and  of our podcast series looking ahead to 2014 in Spartanburg, we covered some of what we expect will be the biggest changes in store for us this year, from new City Council members, to the renovation of one our city skyline's most important buildings, to the much-anticipated launch of this year's Main Street Challenge.   As great as all of that is, we may have saved the best for last, starting with some  and . On an even more transformative scale, 2014 is set to be a huge year for the , starting with a series of public workshops taking place January 9-11. With work underway on both the new , and a  designed to show what the Northside can look like in the future, 2014 is poised to be the year when plans to redevelop this vital part of our city start to bear visible fruit.

In the first part of our podcast series taking a look at some of the things to look forward to in the coming year, we talked with Assistant City Manager Chris Story about , starting with welcoming two new City Coucnil members.    Today, on part two of our podcast, we talk about some of the important downtown residential and business developments coming in 2014. With the  set to add 88 apartments for downtown residents, and with this year's Main Street Challenge getting underway soon, the coming year has all the makings of a great one for our city.

On yesterday's podcast, we talked with Assistant City Manager Chris Story about , and as long as the list of great things that happened in our city over the last 12 months is, we're convinced that things in 2014 will be even more exciting. In fact, we're so enthused for the upcoming year that we couldn't fit all of it in one podcast, so rather than depriving our loyal listeners of the full spectrum of awesome things coming to Spartanburg in 2014, we've spit our "city wonk prognostication 2014" podcast into three parts. Today, we talk about some of the nuts and bolts changes on the horizon for Spartanburg City government in the upcoming year, including the addition of two new City Council members.  in November, and a  left vacant after the resignation of Council member Sterling Anderson. 

There's no denying that 2013 has been quite a year for Spartanburg, especially for our city's blossoming downtown. With 24 , , and the , we couldn't fault anyone for calling 2013 the most important year for Downtown Spartanburg in recent memory.   Today on the podcast, we sit down with Assistant City Manager Chris Story to talk about those, and more of what we believe were this year's highlights.

The  are pretty clear, and for Spartanburg Academic Movement Executive Director, Dr. John Stockwell, those statistics mean that Spartanburg has work to do.   As of 2008, , a figure that puts our community below both the state and national average. Tackling that problem takes a renewed focus on educational achievement at all levels, "from "cradle to career" as the new Spartanburg Academic Movement puts it. Today on the Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Stockwell to talk about some of the ways our community can tackle that challenge. Listen to our full conversation below.

Yesterday,  with former Mayor and current Northside Development Corporation Chair, Bill Barnet. If you haven't listened to it yet, we highly recommend taking a half-hour out of your day to give the entire episode a listen. Within that podcast though, was something we think is pretty special, something that deserves to be highlighted. One of the questions we asked was a simple one: Why should folks in other parts of the City of Spartanburg should care about what's happening on the Northside? Barnet's answer is both direct and compelling, challenging all of us in Spartanburg to have a larger vision of ourselves as a community. We hope you enjoy it.

In previous podcasts, we've talked with City Community Services Director, Mitch Kennedy about the Northside Initiative,  of what the large redevelopment program entails, as well as focusing in on one aspect of the initiative, , which recently broke ground. Today, on the heels of recent news from the Mary Black Foundation of a  for the initiative, we shift gears a little, talking with former Mayor and Northside Development Corporation Chair, Bill Barnet about the importance of the Northside to the future of our city. What is the end goal of this redevelopment effort? Why should what happens on the Northside matter to city residents in other areas? We delve into those, and other important questions, on today's podcast.

Going back to its beginnings in 2006, the  has been one of the crown jewels in Spartanburg's cultural crown. Every year, four artists from around the country came to Downtown Spartanburg to live free and create, bringing fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to our great city. Now, after a one-year hiatus, the much-loved AiR program is making a return,  featuring a filmmaker, a theater artist, and two visual artists.    Today on the podcast, we sit down with Hub-Bub Artists-in-Residence Program Director, Eric Kocher to get some details about the resurgent AiR program.

December is here, and with the holidays upon us, it's time for another conversation with Champan Cultural Center President and CEO, Jennifer Evins about some of the center's great offerings this month. Listen to learn more, and be sure to check out the  for a complete list of what's happening this month.

Among the many places people gather in Downtown Spartanburg to grab a meal or a drink, Little River Coffee Bar is certainly one of the busiest. Serving up espresso drinks and coffee in the Grain Distirct alongside its sister shops Cakehead Bakeshop and Hub City Bookshop, there's hardly a morning at The Coffee Bar where you won't see a who's who of important local figures getting their caffeine fix. Little River isn't just any coffee shop though.   For starters, all of the coffee served at Little River Coffee Bar is roasted at Little River Roasting, fewer than two miles away. Much of that coffee also comes from farms that have a direct relationship with Little River, farms located in in far-flung reaches of the world like Cameroon, Costa Rica, and the country . Today on the podcast, we sit down with Geier to get some details of their trip and the unique relationship this great local business has with its suppliers.

It was easily one of the most popular attractions in town last year, and on November 15 Skating on the Square returns to Morgan Square in Downtown Spartanburg. Today on the podcast, we sit down with City Special Events Manager Mandy Merck to get details about what to expect this year when you head downtown to hit the ice.

After getting the "nuts and bolts" perspective of Assistant City Manager Chris Story on the recently approved  we thought it might be helpful to take a look at things from a different angle. How does this collection of eight streetscaping projects look to someone who spends more time than most seeing our city on two wheels and two feet? Today on the podcast, we sit down with the chair of our Bicycing and Pedestrian Committee, and avid local cyclist, Randy Cooksey to find out.

What's going on with our friends at Hub-Bub in November? Today on the podcast, we sit down with Executive Director Cate Ryba and Showroom Director Stephen Long to find out.   On November 15, there might be a little "Sympathy for the Devil" at The Showroom, or maybe even a "Street Fighting Man" and a "Honky Tonk Woman" riding around on a pair of "Wild Horses." We can't say for sure, because the set list for the , featuring local musicians covering songs by The Rolling Stones, is top secret. What we can say for sure is that this is the best chance you'll have all month to see some of Spartanburg's greatest musicians all in one place.     Later in the month, Hub-Bub is hosting the 14th edition of one of Spartanburg's best recurring events, . Always one the most illuminating night's in town, Talk20 features 10 presenters distilling their ideas and passions down to 20 slides...with just 20 seconds to talk about each one. The results being often hilarious, often heartwarming, and always illuminating. Throw in  at t

  Big changes are in the works for some of Downtown Spartanburg's most important streets. At their most recent meeting, City Council  that eight projects to be completed over the next two years. Among the plans highlights are extending the Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail into Downtown, providing a curb-protected bike lane for Converse Street, and a adding pedestrian-only traffic signal and crosswalk across St. John Street in front of the Chapman Cultural Center and USC-Upstate George Dean Johnson Jr. School of business. The plan also calls for the chicanes along E. Main Street downtown to be straightened, and for sidewalk and other improvements along portions of N. Church Street and Daniel Morgan Ave.   Today on the podcast, we sit down with Assistant City Manager Chris Story to talk get the details on the new plan, both the nuts and bolts and the larger view of its importance to the future of Downtown Spartanburg.

Next month is a busy one for our friends over at the , with multiple great events to add to your literary event calendar every week. Though a 10-minute podcast isn't nearly enough time to get to all of that, we sat down with HCWP Executive Director, Betsy Tetor to talk about the biggest events coming next month, including the release and signing for a new book of Christmas stories by Spartanburg writers called  to be held at the Chapman Cultural Center on November 3, from 2-4 p.m, and a chance later in the month to meet Spartanburg's on canine celebrity, Chaser, a Border Collie who's remarkable ability to distinguish over 1,000 different objects has gotten her on, , and the front page of . Listen and enjoy!

No matter what time of year it is, there's always something going on at the . Today we're sitting down with Chapman's President and CEO, Jennifer Evins to talk about some of the great offerings coming up this month. From a Cultural Arts Festival on October 26, to a performance of Dial "M" for Murder by the Spartanburg Little Theatre running from November 8-17, to a wonderful exhibit of work by artists from Switzerland, the schedule at Chapman is truly packed.    So check out the podcast below, and for more details about their upcoming events, visit the .

You may have never heard of the , but you've almost certainly heard of their work. Dedicated to preserving natural habitat and greenspace throughout Spartanburg County, the organization owns and maintains , a 115-acre urban preserve and trail system on our city's east side, as well as other preserves in Spartanburg County such as the Chinquapin Greenway and Glendale Shoals Preserve. Since its founding in 1989, SPACE has protected thousands of acres in our area through private land conservation efforts.   Today on the podcast, we sit down with SPACE Executive Director Andrew Waters to talk about the organization's work in Spartanburg. Along the way we get a better understanding of what terms like "conservation easement" mean, and talk for a bit about the organization's annual fundraiser,  which is being held at Hub-Bub's Showroom on November 7. 

As you , at their meeting on Monday, City Council gave approval to a plan that calls for $2.58 million in new parks and recreation investment throughout the city. Plans include improving and up to a number of City facilities such as an overflow parking lot and athletic field for the CC Woodson Community Center, a new activity center for Stewart Park, and a new neighborhood park on the westside. Other items include $750,000 for bicycle and pedestrian trails, and a slew of neighborhood park improvements.   Today on the podcast, we have part two of our conversation with Council member Sterling Anderson, and we're talking more about this exciting new parks and recreation plan, discussing the $750,000 in the plan allocated for bicycle and pedestrian trails, and touching a bit on the City's overall vision for these kinds of amenities in our community. Listen below and enjoy.