There are definitely advantages to being a strong and growing, but stable, community:

Information out this afternoon in the Fiserv Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes uses Nashville’s home market as an example of a bright spot in a national market that has seen average prices fall by some 14 percent. Contributing to our market’s relative resilience, the study claims, are the comparative affordability of Nashville homes and our job market, which has outpaced national growth figures in the last three years. Nashville’s median home price has remained fairly steady at $156,000 over the last year. And while that figure is well below the national average of $196,000, Nashvillians on the whole pay a smaller portion of their household income on monthly mortgage payments.

It’s easy to envy the booms in places such as Arizona, Florida, Nevada and California, but it’s nice to avoid the steep declines that often follow.

I really hope no one decides to name Nashville International Airport after a country music legend:

Would we have bumpy landings at Dolly Parton International Airport? Would you like the all-black décor of the Johnny Cash International Airport? Would the terminal in Al Gore International be unusually warm? Would a few flights be no-shows at George Jones International?

I’ve struggled to reconcile the negative elements of Nashville’s identity as Music City with the emerging reality that we are a growing and progressive city, and I don’t think naming the airport after a country star is a good idea. I have come to respect the incredible amount of talent here in town and to acknowledge that there is a great deal of great music, plenty of it country, written and recorded here.

That said, we are extremely well known for our musical pedigree, and unfortunately that sometimes means that the pejorative pieces of that legacy are what people elsewhere choose to focus on. Naming one of the front doors of our community, the airport, after someone who will only reinforce that image doesn’t help the city in the long run. Let’s name it after Dick Fulton, Phil Bredesen, Bill Purcell or Ross Alderman instead.

[Full disclosure: My employer works on behalf of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. I have no involvement with that work; I just think the suggestions referenced above are poor choices for an airport name.]

A thorough, deliberative process to determine the fate of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds is the right approach.

On Wednesday, four development organizations will present their proposals for the future of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. The meeting of the fair board, to be held 6-8:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall at the fairgrounds, will not have public comment, though listeners can offer written questions or comments to the groups and the board afterward.

It is hoped that questions and comments will be numerous, because this 117-acre site is a big, colorful part of Nashville’s history, and should not become a footnote in its future.

Demands for a plan for the fairgrounds have been growing, because it has remained undeveloped for years even as the city has grown and changed around it. It currently hosts the Tennessee State Fair every September, a monthly flea market and regular exhibitions, and has as its main tenant the Music City Motorplex, formerly the Nashville Speedway.

The fairgrounds have been in place for decades, but I personally think the existing site would be better served by another purpose. The site is close to downtown and underused, and many of the properties around it have fallen into disrepair. This part of town has a potential for residences and commerce that is going unfulfilled, if you ask me. I’ll defer to whatever consensus appears to emerge, but I think a town center or community park would be excellent choices for this property.

The Tennessee State Fair in its present state has outlived its usefulness. It’s no secret that gang activity is not unusual during the fair, and attendance is not what it ought to be for what is billed as a statewide event. I’d like to see the title of Tennessee State Fair ceded to the larger (and safer) Wilson County Fair or, touching on the idea I suggested on Monday, relocated to the current Hickory Hollow Mall property. Establishing a Six Flags-style theme park with exhibition space suitable for the state fair would be a major and welcome change for Antioch and for Nolensville Road.

Maybe City Paper commenter “Big Papa” (see bottom of page) is on to something when it comes to the future of Hickory Hollow Mall: “Bulldoze down [the] Mall and put in an amusement park.” Is that such a bad idea?

Nashvillians have lamented Opryland’s departure for 11 years even though they have embraced its replacement, the Opry Mills mall. Maybe this is the right location for Thrillopolis rather than downtown? As local residents discuss the mall’s future, perhaps a theme park (with fresh retail supplementing it) should be on the table. This wouldn’t be as intrusive as the originally proposed Thrillopolis location downtown, and it would likely draw visitors/customers to an area of town that has been in steep decline for several years.

DeadMalls.com user Daron Dunkin predicted Hickory Hollow Mall’s demise in 2006, though he noted that it “isn’t dead yet.” National radio personality Tom Joyner made an appearance at the mall earlier this month, so perhaps the mall’s fate is yet to be sealed. Then again, maybe paying Joyner to broadcast from the mall was a desperate effort to draw customers.

As local officials are beginning to make clear, it would take substantial private development in the mall site for it to transform to a theme park or anything else that different from its original use. I’d say it’s worth considering, so long as it’s more Six Flags than Six Flags Over Jesus.

I think Jim Wallis is on the right track in this recent blog post. Arrogance isn’t a virtue, and it sure isn’t easily avoided. I agree with Wallis that it ought to be a high priority for anyone looking to follow Christ and that it is sorely lacking in all of us.

Jesus being the Son of God does NOT mean that Christians are better, more right, more righteous, more moral, more blessed, more destined to win battles, or more suited to govern and decide political matters than non-Christians. Instead, believing that Jesus was the Son of God would better mean that people who claim to believe it ought to then live the way Jesus did and taught. And on that one, many of us Christians (who believe the right way) are in serious trouble when it comes to the way we live. Those who believe that Jesus was the Son of God should be the most loving, compassionate, forgiving, welcoming, peaceful, and hungry for justice people around—just like Jesus, right? Well, it’s not always exactly so.

I’ll never forget hearing Billy Graham, the world’s greatest evangelist, the last time he spoke at Harvard. He preached at Harvard’s Memorial Church (to a huge crowd of students who had slept out all night just to get a seat), and then to the prestigious JFK Forum at the Kennedy School of Government the next night. After giving a statesmanlike address at the Kennedy School, he turned to the audience for questions. All the Christian triumphalists had shown up for their man and their night at Harvard.

One young believer stood up and asked Dr. Graham, “Since Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by me,’ doesn’t that mean people from other religions—Jews and the rest- are going to hell?” Billy replied, “I’m sure glad that God is the judge of people’s hearts and not me! And I trust God to decide those questions justly and mercifully.” The student was disappointed and pressed further, “Well, what do you think God will decide?” Graham demurred, “Well, God doesn’t really ask my advice on those matters.” Another questioner started again, “Well, what about those who aren’t even monotheists—like the Buddhists?” Graham, replied, “You know, I’ve been to some Buddhist countries, and so many of the people I met seem to live more like Jesus than too many Christians I’ve seen.”

Regardless of the source, many religions and philosophies–including Christianity–support the wisdom that change should begin with the individual. In other words, when I get done removing the plank from my own eye, I’ll be back to remove the speck from yours. Don’t wait up. I’m bound to forget that promise on a regular basis, but here’s hoping for more effort toward righting our own wrongs–rather than everyone else’s–in the year ahead.