A Look Back at a Great Month!
One of the activities I want to undertake in this newsletter is to take time to look back at the growth of this project and bring forward new ways you can help support this effort.
If there is one thing I have learned about growing this newsletter, it is that this project is filling an unmet need; good, honest and quality analysis of the events that are shaping our local civic life. The growth of this project has exceeded expectations and while that growth is good — getting new people in the conversation isn’t a bad thing — it does mean we are all looking at this project from a different perspective.
One of these different perspectives is that we have all learned about this newsletter at different times, so whether this is your first time interacting with Civic Capacity, or your 100th, we are going to take a look back at the month and go over some great ways you can interact with this effort.
A Monumental Milestone
This past month, our publication hit 26,679 views. Why are we celebrating such an odd number? Well, that number is the population here in Troy. Now, it is an absolute stretch to say every person in town has read this publication once in the last five months. However, the fact that this number was acheived in such a relatively short period of time is telling me that our friends and neighbors are interacting with our publication and learning more about our community every day and that is truly the heart of this effort. To all our supporters, from our first-time reader to our long-time fans, thank you!
Our Most Popular Post from September
The most popular post Civic Capacity had last month came early and discussed the possibility of a new roundabout in Troy at the intersection of West Main Street and Stanfield and Experiment Farm Roads. Since this post, City Council held a public presentation on the roundabout and city staff has requested funding from the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission to pay for a substantial portion of the project.
Finding Civic Capacity in Other Places
Personally, I am grateful to WTPW-AM morning drive host, Aaron Teeters, for inviting me on every Monday morning between 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. to talk about the stories and the information that has come out through this newsletter. Much of the discussion we have been having on Monday mornings have been discussing some of the fallout that has been occuring with a lithim-ion battery burning operation on city land and how residents have come together to stop it.
Sponsorship Packages Available for Civic Capacity
Looking at the readership of Civic Capacity, it is clear that we are creating a community of loyal readers that are becoming more engaged with their community. If you own or are part of a small business and would like to become a sponor of Civic Capacity, we have developed a month-long sponorship package. If you are interested, please send me an email at william.lutz17@gmail.com and we can get the conversation started.
A Special Invitation
Tonight is a special evening for civic engagement here in our community; it is “Meet The Candidate” night. The event will be from 7:00 to 8:30 this evening and will be held at the Troy Junior High School, 556 North Adams Street.
The event will feature candidates for Troy City Schools Board of Education, Concord Township Trustee and Concord Township Fiscal Officer. Representatives for those for from the Troy City Schools’ bond request will also field questions.
Candidates will be the opportunity to make opening and closing statements and also answer questions from a panel of local media members.
A Word About the Art you see here
More than a few of our readers have commented about the pictures and the art that is being seen showcased here Civic Capacity and have asked some questions about it.
Well, one of the aspects of the publication that I want to create is not only good information, but also an asthetic that speaks in a creative and interesting way that catches the eyes of our readers.
Earlier this year, I was able to take my family to Chicago and we toured the Art Institute of Chicago. One of the most popular pieces of art in the galleries there is Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks”, as seen below.
I was excited about the trip to the museum, because Hopper is one of my favorite painters. Hopper’s depictions of every day American life on the canvas, his color choices and simple and clean look to his art are aspects of his work that speak to me; much like any great artist.
Anyway, with the help of Artificial Intelligence, I try to create an aesthetic from average scenes and buildings to be recreated as if Edward Hopper himself painted them. The result are pictures that are attractive, colorful and even nostalgic, in many respects. In my mind the jury is still out on Artificial Intelligence in many respects. However, it is a tool that is out there and if this is a way to explore using Artificial Intelligence in a safe and helpful manner, I am going dip my toe in the water.
For those of you that have taken notice, thank you!
Help Grow our Newsletter
One of the things I am really impressed with about the Substack platform is that they are always developing new tools to help grow newsletters. The good people at Substack have recently developed a referral program. Individuals that are sucessfully referring new subscribers to the newsletter are elgible to earn rewards. You can learn more here. Of course, one of the easiest actions you can take to grow this effort is simply share it with your friends and neighbors.
Thanks for reading!
September was an amazingly successful month for the Civic Capacity Newsletter and I am grateful for all of your support! If you ever have any comments or questions, please feel free to drop me a note at william.lutz17@gmail.com.