Decades ago, Bill Fulton wrote that Washington was not a good baseball town—and was skewered by legendary sportswriter Shirley Povich. The World Series made him rethink both D.C. and Houston—as baseball towns and as cities.
Early in the Reagan Administration, when I was a smarmy young journalist trying to make a name for myself, I wrote a controversial op-ed piece in the Washington Post saying that Washington was not a baseball town and did not deserve its own team. Washington and Baltimore were one region, I argued, and Washington residents should root for the Orioles.
My piece raised the ire of no less than Shirley Povich, the legendary sports columnist for the Post—and father of TV talk show host Maury Povich—who devoted an entire column to trashing me, calling my words “the greatest compendium of flapdoodle ever accepted for the written page.”
I wore Povich’s criticism as a badge of honor for many years. Not only had I gained attention from the famous columnist, but I was secure in the knowledge that, no matter what he claimed, I was right: Washington wasn’t a good baseball town and didn’t deserve a team.
Decades later, as a Houstonian of advanced age, I have to admit that times have changed.
FULL STORY: Washington Is A Graet (Baseball) Town. So IS Houston
Friday Funny: Zoning Provides Nationals Fans With Another Bragging Point Over Astros Fans
The worlds of baseball and zoning collide again.
Bike Ridership Booms in Some Unlikely Cities
A fitness tracking app reports dramatic increases in bike ridership since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Growing Urban Inequality Gap, Visualized
Inequality is growing faster in large metropolitan areas, according to a New York Times data visualization.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research