smart growth

Census information released last week reports the latest 12-month growth rate for the Spartanburg metro area at 2.1 percent. Greenville's rate is essentially the same at 2.2 percent, and Charlotte, an hour up the I-85 corridor, is double ours, at 4.2 percent.

I was out weeding my wildflower garden this week and, I kid you not, a spaceship landed. It was small and looked a little like an outdoor charcoal grill, all shiny and round. When it spoke I realized it was not an errant flying charcoal grill, but a curious creature from a galaxy far away.