Economist.com Cities Guide: Moscow Briefing - August 2006

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Welcome to Moscow...

Moscow spends little money promoting its image abroad. But this is set to change: city authorities have announced a $27m, three-year promotional campaign to counter perceptions of the city as unfriendly, grey, dirty and cold. The scheme includes plans for more public events in the city, attractive new websites to lure tourists, and ways to improve ties with foreign journalists and the Russian diaspora in Europe. Many have welcomed the campaign. Irina Tyurina, a spokeswoman for a tourist group, expressed the problem in rather blunt terms: “Moscow is known worldwide as a great tourist destination incapable of accepting tourists.”

But Moscow’s image-sprucing authorities seem to have identified their first enemy: travel guides. Tourism officials were outraged to find that the latest edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Moscow mentioned widespread prostitution and corruption. This portrayal of the city, they alleged in August, was 15 years out of date. “This guide suggests that one can meet a loose woman everywhere in Moscow,” fumed Aleksey Shavlov of Intourist, Russia’s main tourist agency, “But this is not true!” There are murmurs about legal action against the publishers. “At least they did not write about gloomy men wearing fur hats with earflaps, and bears strolling along Tverskaya,” concluded a sardonic television report on the guide.

Under the influence

Moscow is in the throes of a property boom, with prices edging close to London's. But according to a recent report in the Moscow Times, it seems that buying an apartment is only half the battle; keeping it is another problem. Russian law contains several provisions that allow contracts of sale to be cancelled years after buyers have settled into their new homes. Most commonly, sellers try to prove in court that they were legally incapable at the time of the sale—in other words, that they were drunk.

So prevalent is this ruse that buyers are now reportedly insisting that sellers be medically examined on the day they sign the contract. But ingenious sellers are finding loopholes. A Moscow court recently awarded an apartment back to a seller who claimed she'd been in an alcoholic haze when signing the contract to sell her flat. The buyers had taken the precaution of ordering a health exam, but since the medical certificate wasn't issued on the day of the sale it was deemed irrelevant.

To further complicate matters, parties on both sides of a sale routinely try to dodge taxes by undervaluing the property in the official contract. Of course, if the sale is later invalidated, this backfires on the buyer: they can only recoup the sale amount stipulated in the official paperwork.

Bringing out the inner entrepreneur

Many of the Russian men who became oligarchs in the 1990s began as small-scale hustlers and businessmen on Moscow's streets. But these days the city’s young, ambitious types tend to pursue more stable careers in big companies. The trend has become so pronounced that Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow’s mayor, is launching a new programme to encourage young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.

Under the scheme, young Muscovites will submit business plans, and the city will provide $4.7m to underwrite their implementation by established companies (and cover any losses). The programme is scheduled to last for three years.

On shaky ground

Warnings of structural threats to St Basil's cathedral, an iconic and colourful landmark that presides over Red Square, are common. Conservationists have long protested that the thumping vibrations from rock concerts in the square endanger the 16th-century cathedral. The latest fear stems from plans for number five, Red Square, a 19th-century building less than 300 feet from the church. Developers recently bought the site and plan to transform it into a luxury hotel with swanky flats, an auction house and a huge underground car park. Work is supposed to begin in 2007, with completion expected by late 2008.

Andrei Balatov, head of the cathedral's restoration commission (which has just organised a careful repainting of the building’s exterior decoration), argues that construction could upset the balance of subsoil waters and shake St Basil’s foundations. He is asking that the project be stopped, or at least re-examined. But Russian officials dismissed such calls in early August, insisting that the work would not affect the cathedral’s foundations.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Concerts at country estates

Until mid-September 2006

Although silence reigns in Moscow’s main concert halls each August, lovely performances are staged at various country estates on the outskirts of town. These estates have charming, intimate concert halls: from the small yet perfectly formed Ostankino theatre—built by an aristocrat for his mistress, a peasant actress—to the splendidly decorated Colonnade Hall at Arkangelskoye (pictured), the venues hark back to a forgotten era. The concerts are well worth the short journey from the city centre.

Concerts are held every Saturday and Sunday until mid-September in Arkhangelskoye. For further information see the estate’s website.

For concerts at Ostankino and Kuskovo, check listings in the Friday edition of the Moscow Times.

More from the Moscow cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Los Angeles Briefing - August 2006

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The ICE men cometh

Los Angeles is home to thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. The hotel and restaurant industries rely on their cheap labour, and the wealthy householders of west LA depend on them to do their washing, cleaning and gardening. The LA Police Department (LAPD) usually turns a blind eye to their presence. Under “Special Order 40”, enacted in 1979, police officers do not ask immigrants about their legal status when questioning them, since doing so would discourage them from reporting crimes.

But the tide seems to be turning. Under pressure from populist anti-immigration sentiment, the federal government is beefing up its “Los Angeles Fugitive Operations Team”. The aim is to hunt down immigrants who have defied court deportation orders, concentrating on violent gang members. Nationwide the initiative, crafted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), an investigative arm of the Department for Homeland Security, is catching about 1,000 fugitives a week—many of them in LA. Indeed, ICE reports that since October it has arrested more than 2,800 illegal immigrants in Los Angeles, more than in any other American city.

Dirty water

Southern California is supposed to offer not just constant sunshine, but sand, sea and surf. Sadly, this is not always honoured: on August 8th Los Angeles County health officials ordered that two miles of beaches in Santa Monica Bay, including the wonderful expanse of sand at Venice Beach, should be closed to swimmers. The authorities had detected an unacceptable level of bacteria in the ocean and sand from a spill of some 20,000 gallons of raw sewage, after equipment failed at a sewage-treatment plant in nearby Culver City. But it could have been worse: the Culver City plant processes a daunting 1.2m gallons of sewage a day. Not that this troubles LA's glitterati: only surfers and tourists brave the cold Pacific—Hollywood types prefer their swimming pools.

Gourmets rejoice

Gordon Ramsay, a British chef, is becoming a cult figure among America’s foodies. He has a collection of Michelin stars for his mostly London-based restaurants, but Americans know him mainly from his television shows, such as “Hell’s Kitchen” (with the frequent expletives bleeped out). So it makes sense that he would expand his culinary empire—which already includes restaurants in New York, Dubai and Tokyo—to Los Angeles, where his inspired cuisine and bad-boy image should do well among A-listers. By next spring the Scot intends to open two restaurants and a bar at West Hollywood’s Wyndham Bel Age hotel—which is being revamped and renamed the “London LA Hotel”. Given the inevitability of tremendous hype, it might make sense for personal assistants to start trying to book a table now.

The LA kings

The most powerful and influential figure in LA is not a Hollywood mogul—at least not according to the LA Times's magazine, West. It seems the top spot belongs to Eli Broad, who made his billions from the kind of real-estate development that helped give the city its distinctive sprawl. The magazine ranks Mr Broad (who is a huge donor to the city’s education and cultural sectors) second in southern California as a whole, behind Donald Bren, an Orange County businessman. Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of LA, comes fourth on the southern California list, ahead of Roger Mahoney, the archbishop of the huge LA Roman Catholic archdiocese, whose flock numbers 5m.

Intriguingly, number six on the list does not even live in California: Philip Anschutz, a Colorado-based billionaire, who owns two local sports stadiums (the Staples Center and the Home Depot Center) and several sports teams (the LA Kings, the Galaxy soccer franchise and, with Ed Roski, nearly 30% of the LA Lakers). Moreover, his entertainment company, AEG, plans to spend more than $1 billion in hotel and commercial development in downtown Los Angeles. Lest Hollywood feel ignored, Jerry Bruckheimer—a prolific film and TV producer—makes the list at number eight, and Haim Saban, who has just bought Univision (America’s biggest Spanish-language TV broadcaster), closes out the top ten.

Green partying

In a victory for taxpayers, the California Supreme Court has ruled that they do not have to compensate a billboard-owner, Regency Outside Advertising, for the diminished value of their hoardings along Century Boulevard, outside Los Angeles airport. The company filed a lawsuit against the city because palm trees, planted in 2000, partly obscure these hoardings. The court unanimously disagreed: “The right to be seen from a public way”, the judgment declared, “simply does not exist under the circumstances presented.”

Catch if you can

August 2006

Robert Rauschenberg: Combines

Until September 4th 2006

Robert Rauschenberg has long been one of America’s most influential modern artists. His career has ranged from the minimalist “white paintings” of the 1950s, which were abstract works that changed in the light, to the design of the Talking Heads’ 1983 album, “Speaking in Tongues”. Given the scope of Mr Rauschenberg’s work and influence, it is worth braving downtown and its expensive parking for a chance to see 70 of his “combines” at LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art. These works, created between 1954 and 1964, blurred the boundaries between painting and sculpture, combining canvases with found objects, from a goat’s head to the artist’s own quilt. One of his contemporaries allegedly saw the combines and exclaimed, “If this is modern art, I quit.” Some MOCA visitors may well agree; most will not.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 South Grand Ave. Tel: +1 (213) 626-6222. Open: Mon, Fri 11am-5pm; Thurs 11am-8pm; Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-6pm. Entry: $8. For more information visit the museum’s website.

More from the Los Angeles cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Sydney Briefing - August 2006

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Staying put

John Howard, Australia's prime minister, ended speculation about his political future on July 31st, when he declared that he would contest a fifth election as party leader in the general election, due in late 2007. Liberal parliamentarians had been pressing Mr Howard to declare his intentions following an embarrassing public spat with Peter Costello, the treasurer (finance minister) and deputy party leader, over the top job.

Earlier in July, Mr Costello confirmed a press report that Mr Howard had agreed in 1994 to hand over the leadership to him after one-and-a-half terms of a Liberal government. Mr Howard, a 67-year-old Sydneysider who became prime minister in 1996, denied he had made any such arrangement. Since he has led the party to four successive victories in ten years, most Liberal members of Parliament applauded his decision to run again. A downcast Mr Costello subsequently pledged to stay on as treasurer, but added pointedly: “I don't think I will be entering into any more agreements.” Even if Mr Howard wins the 2007 election and then retires, Mr Costello will probably face challenges from ambitious colleagues.

Looking up

An interest-rate rise on August 2nd spelt bad news for Sydney's heavily indebted homeowners and rocked Mr Howard's conservative coalition government. The rise of a quarter of a percentage point, to 6%, was passed on to borrowers by Australia's main retail banks within two days. Ian Macfarlane, the central bank's governor, said the rise was needed to dampen inflationary and debt pressures.

The rise was the second this year and the third since 2004, making a mockery of Mr Howard's election pledge to “keep interest rates low”. This was a rash promise: since 1996, when Mr Macfarlane became governor, the bank has operated under a charter of independence from the government.

On August 4th the bank forecast underlying inflation over the next two years of around 3%, the high end of the range in which it wants inflation confined. It also said that household credit in June was growing at a yearly rate of almost 15%, compared with 11% at the end of 2005. Some commentators believe another rate rise is in the offing before the next election, due in late 2007.

Falling down

Hyde Park, Australia's oldest park, is a much-loved spot. Beginning as a “common” in 1810, it served as a racecourse, boxing arena and cricket pitch before evolving into today's tranquil space. So Sydneysiders were upset by news that its iconic fig trees—which form a canopy along Central Avenue between the Archibald Fountain and the Anzac war memorial—will be chopped down. On July 25th Clover Moore, Sydney's Lord Mayor, said that all 102 trees were threatened by disease and would be replaced over the next 15 years. A total of 230 sick and dying trees will be replaced in the park as a whole.

Experts have blamed poor soil quality and drainage, problems which date from the 1920s when much of Hyde Park was dug up to build the City Circle line on Sydney’s underground railway. Although most trees still look healthy, their trunks and roots are decaying from the inside. The City of Sydney council plans to spend A$37m ($28.3m) upgrading the park, renewing soil and replacing the damaged trees.

Resurrection

The rail service connecting central Sydney and the city's airport has long been dubbed the “ghost train”. Rushed into service ahead of the Olympic games in 2000, the line has struggled to attract passengers due to its high fares (A$13 one way) and haphazard timetables. Airport Link Company (ALC), the line's operator, went into receivership just six months after the service began in March 2000.

But now there are hopes that the train will spring to life. Westpac Banking Corporation, one of Australia's biggest banks, announced on July 27th that it had agreed to buy ALC from its receivers for an undisclosed price. The agreement gives Westpac the right to operate the line and its four stations until 2030. Pending regulatory approval, the deal could transform the moribund line into a money-spinner: passenger numbers at the airport, Australia's biggest, are forecast to double by 2023.

Another resurrection

When the Chauvel cinema shut down in September 2005, cinephiles bemoaned the loss of one of Sydney's few venues for independent films. Named after Charles and Elsa Chauvel, two pioneers of Australian film-making, the cinema prided itself on showing features, documentaries, classics and other films that multiplexes ignored. But like some of Sydney's bigger cinemas, it fell victim to declining patronage in an age of DVDs and home cinemas.

On July 27th, however, the Chauvel reopened under the management of Palace Cinemas, one of Australia's leading arthouse exhibitors. Under a deal struck with the City of Sydney, the local government authority from which it leases the cinema (housed in the 19th-century Paddington Town Hall), Palace has spent A$500,000 refurbishing the Chauvel's foyer, bar and two screens. The revamped venue's programme is similar to that offered by the old Chauvel.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Alberto Giacometti

August 18th-October 29th 2006

Alberto Giacometti, a Swiss-born sculptor (1901-1966), is best known for his bronze sculptures of human figures that seem to be wasting away. He worked for most of his life in Paris, where he mixed with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. This is Australia’s first show dedicated to the artist. Edmund Capon, director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, describes Giacometti as a man who searched for “a reality beyond the physical reality, which is indeed the spirit of existentialism”.

The 79 pieces, including 35 sculptures, stretch from Giacometti's surrealist period in the early 1930s to his post-war period, when he developed the spidery statuettes. Highlights include nine bronze figures in the “Women of Venice” series and the “walking man” and “standing female” sculptures he created for the Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York.

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery Rd, The Domain, Sydney. Tel: +61 (0)2 9225 1744. Admission: A$10. Open: daily, 10am-5pm. See the gallery's exhibition information.

More from the Sydney cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Zurich Briefing - August 2006

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Mistakes were made

Two prominent Zurich politicians are being taken to task for their poor decisions. In July a parliamentary committee issued a report rebuking the federal justice minister, Christoph Blocher, for making incendiary comments. During a speech in Zurich in January Mr Blocher branded two Albanian asylum-seekers “criminals” who had “committed two murders”. The committee found that the statement was false and that Mr Blocher had later lied to parliament when he claimed he had said the Albanians were only “accused” of murder. The committee concluded that Mr Blocher’s comments were an underhanded way to build support for tightening Switzerland’s asylum laws, which will be subject to a nationwide referendum in September.

Meanwhile, the leaking of government documents continues to haunt Dorothée Fierz, the canton’s former public works minister. In May Ms Fierz was forced to resign over the leak; now she faces a criminal investigation. In July the cantonal parliament voted to remove Ms Fierz's immunity from prosecution. The decision clears the way for her to be charged with breaching official secrecy, a rare but not unprecedented event.

To court, finally

A Zurich district court has finally authorised prosecutors to charge 19 former executives and board members of Swissair for their part in the national airline’s demise. Prosecutors first filed charges at the end of March, but the court returned the documents in May, declaring them incomplete and too vague. In July the court accepted the revised papers and said the trial could begin in January 2007. Prosecutors are eager to press charges as soon as possible, as the statute of limitations for some lesser offences expires in the summer of 2008. Graver charges—such as dishonest management and the breaching of fiduciary responsibility—can stand for up to 15 years. Mario Corti and Philipp Bruggisser, the airline’s former chief executives, are among those who will be tried. The most serious charge of falsifying documents carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Swissair collapsed in October 2001 after pursuing a disastrous expansion programme and accumulating debts of SFr 17 billion ($13 billion). The company’s collapse—and the accompanying loss of 5,000 jobs—was a major blow to Switzerland’s national pride, so much so that the events leading to the collapse were recently dramatised in “Grounding”, a successful film.

No ruffians allowed

A controversial new law allowing Zurich police to ban troublemakers from public areas has been tempered by the security minister, Ruedi Jeker. In its original form, the law would have allowed police to bar people whose behaviour caused “offence or fear to the public” from certain areas for up to three months, with no chance of appeal. This vague wording provoked criticism from leaders of several parties, who said the law gives police too much power to ban whomever they please—especially as the alleged ruffians could not challenge officers’ judgments in court.

The new version allows police to step in only “if the person or persons are seriously disturbing or endangering others, or unjustifiably preventing the intended use of public spaces.” The maximum ban has been reduced to 14 days, and can be challenged before magistrates. The changes were welcomed by the three main parties that had opposed the original draft. Only the Green Party and the far-left Alternative List have threatened to fight the revised proposal. The draft law will go before the cantonal parliament’s justice commission ahead of a parliamentary vote, probably in the spring.

Make yourself at home

Zurich is home to more foreigners now than at any time since the first world war. According to a recent report, foreigners comprise 30.2% of Zurich's population, up from around 20% thirty years ago. Ample wages and a high standard of living make the city attractive to non-Swiss, and a 2004 agreement to open Switzerland’s borders to EU residents has made it easier for professionals to settle here. Germans have now replaced Italians as the largest foreign group, accounting for 17% of the expat community. In all, Zurich is home to foreigners from some 165 different countries.

The study also highlighted differences between the lifestyles of the 30 most common nationalities resident in Zurich. German, French, British, Swedish, Dutch and American residents, often hired to fill executive or managerial positions, earn more than the Swiss average. Foreigners from the former Yugoslavia (who outnumber Germans if counted as a single group), Sri Lanka, Somalia and Bangladesh tend to earn less and live in more congested areas. Still, the study suggests that Zurich has avoided the “ghettoisation” common in other European cities. Over the past decade more Swiss have moved into areas that were once occupied mostly by foreigners, and vice versa.

Fire free

Zurich celebrated Switzerland’s national holiday on August 1st in a rather muted fashion, thanks to a brief cantonal ban on fireworks, bonfires and barbecues. Authorities feared that the holiday’s usual pyrotechnics could lead to fires after weeks of hot, dry weather. Revellers huffed that Zurich was one of only a handful of cantons to introduce such a ban, despite similar conditions across the country.

Police and firemen were called to more than 250 sites where people were flaunting the order, either through ignorance or rebellion. Some illegal bonfires were topped with effigies of the fire chief. Authorities lifted the ban on August 3rd and said that individual communities could name a day to set off leftover fireworks. The city of Zurich chose August 12th, in order to combine the delayed festivities with the techno parade.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Theatre Spectacle

August 17th-September 3rd 2006

Zurich’s popular outdoor theatre festival could not take place in a lovelier spot than the Landiwiese meadow, beside the lake. Now in its 27th year, the festival boasts an eclectic mix of theatre, dance and music from 15 countries, from Cambodia to Brazil. Performances take place on ten stages, including the nearby Rote Fabrik and Gessnerallee theatres.

Highlights include “Gatz”, an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” by the Elevator Repair Service, a theatre group from New York; “The Attendants’ Gallery”, a thought-provoking take on recent European history by LOD, a multinational theatre company; and “fever”, a dance in which Nigel Charnock, a Briton, interprets Shakespeare’s sonnets to the music of Michael Riessler, a German composer and clarinettist.

Theater Spektakel, Landiwiese; Rote Fabrik; Theaterhaus Gessnerallee. Admission: SFr16-45. For further details see the Spectacle’s website.

More from the Zurich cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Singapore Briefing - August 2006

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Hosting skills

Singapore is gearing up for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the biggest such multilateral gathering ever in the city-state, from September 11th-20th. Preparations are in full swing to host the 16,000 expected delegates. Smiles and decent English are encouraged; scruffy taxi-drivers and outdoor demonstrations are not.

The prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has led a “Four Million Smiles” campaign, which advises locals to grin at those arriving for the event. Cabbies have had special training to improve their manners. More controversially, the head of the local police has indicated that nobody will be permitted to protest against the meetings in public, behaviour that has been as much a staple of past IMF-World Bank meetings as long-winded speeches and angst about global economic imbalances. Singapore’s laws do not allow outdoor demonstrations by more than four people without a police permit, and authorities have made it clear that they see no reason to make an exception. Visiting NGOs may, however, be allotted a section of the main venue’s lobby to press their case.

Looking ahead

Lee Hsien Loong held a party on July 22nd to welcome 24 new MPs of the People’s Action Party (PAP), elected in May, and thank the elderly legislators who had stood down to make room for them. Mr Lee, head of the PAP, said he was already planning for the next contest, due in 2011. By this time the “majority of voters will have been born post-independence,” he said, highlighting the challenge of establishing the party’s appeal among the young.

Mr Lee’s remarks underscore the PAP’s refusal to take electoral success for granted, despite dominating the political landscape for more than four decades. The new crop of MPs forms part of the party’s constant “renewal” process. At the dinner Mr Lee cited an article in The Economist that analysed the roots of the PAP’s success, including its constant search for new talent.

A builder dies

Lim Kim San, a former cabinet minister and one of Lee Kuan Yew’s trusted aides in the 1960s and 1970s, died on July 20th. He was 89. Mr Lee, modern Singapore’s founding father, led the praise for a man who did much to transform the city-state, especially its housing. “He helped change the fortunes of the PAP and of Singapore,” said Mr Lee.

Mr Lim’s chief contribution was to head the Housing and Development Board (HDB) from 1960 to 1963, before he went into politics. The state agency was charged with churning out thousands of affordable flats, and even today most Singaporeans live in units built by the HDB. During his career Mr Lim headed a total of seven government departments as well as myriad public bodies, including the main local press group and the sprawling port.

Hanging up

Singapore is not a country accustomed to surprises, especially from senior figures, so the events of July 21st were notable. Out of the blue, Lee Hsien Yang announced that he would step down as chief executive of Singapore Telecom (SingTel), the city-state’s largest company. Mr Lee is known locally both for his corporate clout and for being the brother of Lee Hsien Loong and son of Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Hsien Yang has had an impressive reign at SingTel, tripling the company’s profits since he took the helm 12 years ago. SingTel continues to perform well: in August the company announced that it had surpassed analysts' estimates, increasing profits by 5.8% in the first quarter of 2006.

Mr Lee will remain chief executive until the board finds a replacement. To explain his departure, he merely said that it was time for a change at the state-linked company, and admitted that he does not know what he will do next. He ruled out—not for the first time—entering politics or emigrating, and also said that he had not been offered a post at a government agency.

High hopes

Budget airlines have made considerable progress in Asia in recent years, especially in Singapore, but the potentially lucrative route between the Lion City and Kuala Lumpur has remained off-limits. A bilateral agreement between Singapore and Malaysia restricts almost all flights to the national carriers, which effectively run a cosy duopoly—return fares for the 45-minute flight begin at about S$300 ($190). That may now change, bringing cheaper fares and better services to business travellers and tourists alike. Singapore’s Tiger Airways said in July that it was keen to serve Malaysia’s capital, and Air Asia—Malaysia’s top no-frills airline—said it wanted to fly into Singapore. Malaysia’s transport minister announced on August 5th that he had set up a panel to review access to the route, the fourth-busiest in Asia. Singapore's administration has long been willing to renegotiate the bilateral deal.

Catch if you can

August 2006

World Press Photo Exhibition

September 8th-28th 2006

Over 50 years old now, the World Press Photo competition is rightly regarded as the Oscars of contemporary news photography. Run by a Netherlands-based charity, the annual contest attracts thousands of entries vying to be judged the year’s most arresting image. The best entries are featured in a travelling exhibition, which comes to Singapore in September. An hour spent wandering around these photos may be as enjoyable—or provocative—as almost anything else you do this year.

Level 7 and 8, The Promenade, National Library, 100 Victoria Street. Open: daily, 10am-9pm. Entry: free. For more details see the website.

More from the Singapore cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: San Francisco Briefing - August 2006

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British invasion

Tony Blair’s approval ratings have reached new lows in Britain, thanks in part to his relationship with George Bush. But in California, the British prime minister seems to be more popular than ever. Mr Blair dazzled the local elite during a four-day visit at the end of July that aimed to promote ties with the state, the world’s sixth-biggest economy. At a gathering in Monterey—organised by Rupert Murdoch, a media magnate, and attended by Bill Clinton, a former president—Mr Blair espoused Britain’s place in the world economy.

The prime minister took care to distance himself from the White House on two issues important to Californians: stem-cell research and global warming. Meeting leaders of the biotechnology industry in Silicon Valley, he announced a collaboration with California on stem-cell research, and a joint biotech conference is planned for November. Mr Blair also signed a pledge with Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s governor, to work together to fight global warming. For Mr Schwarzenegger, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign, the agreement provides an opportunity to beef up his eco-credentials and distance himself from the increasingly unpopular Mr Bush.

Having a heat wave

More than 160 people died during a 12-day heat wave that roasted California in late July. Temperatures in the Bay Area topped 110ºF (44ºC) for four days in a row. Most of the casualties were old people who died in homes without air-conditioning.

The heat raised concerns about the state’s future energy needs. As California’s population continues to grow and temperatures, according to global-warming theorists, continue to rise, the state’s power grid may not keep up with demand. During this heat wave, demand exceeded 50,000 megawatts on two days, higher than the record set last summer, and more than 1m people lost electricity. The state has built 36 new power plants since the blackouts of 2001, but because it has closed older plants at the same time, capacity has grown by only 6,774 megawatts.

Paying a heavy price

One San Francisco journalist was jailed and two others face imprisonment for refusing to co-operate with federal prosecutors. On August 4th a federal judge told two reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle that they may go to jail if they do not divulge the source of leaked grand jury testimony. The case is part of a steroid investigation involving Barry Bonds, a baseball player with the San Francisco Giants. Three days earlier, Joshua Wolf, a freelance video journalist and blogger, went to jail for refusing to hand over footage of a protest against the G8 summit in San Francisco last July. Prosecutors say that Mr Wolf’s tape could help identify who injured a San Francisco policeman and vandalised a police car.

Like most other states, California has laws that protect journalists from prosecutors' demands that they reveal sources and unpublished material. However, such laws do not apply in federal courts. Journalists gathered in San Francisco on August 5th to protest against Mr Wolf's imprisonment and the growing pressure to divulge sources. That same day Judith Miller, a former New York Times reporter who went to jail last summer for refusing to reveal a source, tried to interview Mr Wolf, but prison guards turned her away.

Olympic dreams

San Francisco has moved one step closer to its long-time goal of hosting the summer Olympic games. On July 26th the United States Olympic Committee chose San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago as the finalists for America's nomination for the 2016 games. The committee members stressed that they chose these three cities in part because each has an established reputation, independent of the country as a whole, at a time when international opinion of America has changed for the worse. The committee will announce a nominee in March, although it may yet rule out an American bid if the finalists do not address shortfalls in their proposals outlined by the committee.

San Francisco lost out to New York as the American contender for the 2012 games. Its candidacy is helped by a plan to make the most of the city's scenery, with marathon runners crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and cyclists racing through the Presidio. But there is still work to be done. Perhaps the most difficult task will be to convince local residents that hosting the Olympics merits spending billions of dollars on transport, security and new sports facilities, including housing for athletes and possibly a new stadium.

In the name of the gay father

The Vatican has chastised the Catholic Charities of San Francisco, the social-services arm of the city’s archdiocese, over its practices as an adoption agency. Despite the church's ban on homosexuality, the charity has matched some children with gay couples. Controversy erupted last autumn, when the Catholic Charities in Boston and San Francisco admitted to the practice, mostly involving foster children who were hard to place. The scandal prompted the Boston arm to give up its adoption services altogether.

The San Francisco charity, however, has made a compromise. On August 2nd the group announced that it will no longer act as a full-service adoption agency, but will continue to provide parents with information and referral. The organisation will work with California Kids Connection, a statewide adoption service, which means the charity itself will not directly place children with gay parents. The arrangement seems to have smoothed feathers—George Niederauer, San Francisco’s archbishop, said the new policy did not conflict with the church's views.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Sampling Oakland

Until October 8th 2006

Oakland tends to suffer from an inferiority complex vis-à-vis its neighbour, San Francisco. But its comparative lack of prestige makes Oakland a cheaper place to live—and hence more popular with young artists, who are bypassing San Francisco’s pricey warehouse districts in favour of Oakland’s working-class neighbourhoods.

As old buildings and warehouses are turned into hip studios and gallery spaces, Oakland is developing a thriving arts scene, one that is garnering national attention. San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts pays homage to this vibrant community with Sampling Oakland, an exhibition of works by Oakland's leading painters, photographers, filmmakers, sculptors and installation artists.

Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, 701 Mission St, San Francisco. Tel: +1 (415) 978-2782. See the centre's website.

More from the San Francisco cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Brussels Briefing - August 2006

News this month

After the sun, the rain

Torrential rain caused flooding in east Brussels on July 28th, forcing motorists to abandon their cars and two metro stations to close. The floods came at the end of Belgium’s hottest-ever July, with temperatures averaging 23.2ºC (74ºF). The car park of the W (formerly Woluwe) shopping centre was flooded—shoppers gaped with horror at their cars half-submerged in water—as was a nearby tunnel. Evelyne Huytebroeck, the minister for the environment in the Brussels regional government, promised to raise the issue of flood protection and financial support for those affected when the political season resumes in September.

This was the third time in a year that the area of Woluwe St-Lambert, south of the city’s airport, has seen serious flooding. Two small rivers, the Roodebeek and the Woluwe, meet nearby, which makes the location particularly vulnerable to rises in the water level.

Waterloo underground

Wallonia's regional government has unveiled plans to modernise visitor entertainment at the battlefield of Waterloo, which lies 10km south of Brussels. The site of Napoleon's decisive 1815 defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington and Marshal von Blücher is still largely farmland. Its few tourist attractions, which include a diorama and a waxworks museum (whose models date from 1949), are deemed to be rather stale. The organisers hope to raise the number of annual visitors from 300,000 to 500,000 with a new 1,000-square-metre visitors’ centre, mostly underground, near the site’s main memorial—an artificial hill topped with a statue of a lion.

The €20m project is being led by Franco Dragone, an Italian-Belgian renowned for his work producing and directing two unique Cirque du Soleil shows in Los Angeles. The centre will boast an interactive exhibition with three-dimensional films and simulated tours of the battlefield. It is expected to open in 2009.

Bring back the cars

The Belgian Grand Prix looks set to return in 2007. Bernie Ecclestone, the boss of Formula One (F1), has promised a race next year at Spa-Francorchamps, near Liège, according to an announcement in mid-July from Elio Di Rupo, the head of the Walloon government. The circuit is one of the most celebrated in F1 racing, but fell off the calendar after the 2005 race, when its promoter went bankrupt. The Walloon government took control of the circuit, but was left with various debts. The return of the Grand Prix is important not only because many Belgians are fans of motor-racing but also because, under the terms of a 2003 agreement aimed at keeping Grand Prix racing in Belgium, the Walloon government is obliged to pay damages to Mr Ecclestone if it is unable to put on a race.

Mr Di Rupo also announced plans for a new company to organise next year’s race. It will be headed by Etienne Davignon, a former vice-president of the European Commission and former chairman of Societé Générale de Belgique, a leading holding company. Mr Davignon and his colleagues must ensure that changes demanded by Mr Ecclestone, such as making the circuit safer and improving its facilities, are ready by next summer.

Unlucky break

Belgium’s royal-watchers had a shock on August 4th when Queen Paola broke her wrist and shoulder while on a yachting holiday off the coast of Sicily. The 68-year-old queen and her husband, King Albert II, returned to Brussels immediately, where she underwent an operation. The queen left hospital on August 8th with the intention of resuming her holiday as soon as possible. This is not the first time that a royal holiday has been disrupted by broken bones. In November 2002 King Albert broke his ankle while riding his motorcycle on the grounds of his home in Châteauneuf de Grasse, in the south of France.

Five-star service

The Euroquarter of Brussels is finally getting a five-star hotel, making it easier to accommodate government leaders and their entourages when they invade the city. Sofitel Brussels Europe opens on September 8th with 137 bedrooms and 12 suites. It stands at one end of Place Jourdan, on a site that was previously an unsightly combination of advertising hoardings and a car park. Within walking distance of the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission headquarters, the hotel boasts views of Parc Léopold. Sofitel now plans improvements to its hotel in the centre of town, the Toison d’Or.

Catch if you can

August 2006

KlaraFestival 2006

September 2nd-15th 2006

After a summer of easygoing concerts, the city's classical-music season begins in earnest with this two-week festival. Organisers have crafted a programme around two themes: “Desire” and “Finland”. As part of the former, Barbara Bonney (pictured), a soprano, will sing romantic pieces by the likes of Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and both Clara and Robert Schumann (September 5th). Supporting the latter theme are appearances by two Finnish composers: Magnus Lindberg, a composer and pianist, will perform his works with Anssi Karttunen, a cellist (September 11th); and Olli Mustonen will play his own compositions on the piano, as well as those by Robert Schumann, J.S. Bach and Sergei Prokofiev (September 12th).

Other highlights include Monteverdi’s “Orfeo”, conducted by Jordi Savall, a gamba player (September 6th), and a performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Muti (September 7th). Besides concerts at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, the festival features a few at lunchtime, in the late evening and in private homes.

Palais des Beaux-Arts, 23 Rue Ravenstein, 1000 Brussels. Tel: +32 (0)2 507 8444. See the festival’s website.

More from the Brussels cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Dubai Briefing - August 2006

News this month

Standing by Lebanon

Dubai-based firms have pledged to maintain their investments in Beirut, even as Israeli aircraft bombed the Lebanese capital. Property firms including Damac Properties and Habtoor Group are building hotels and luxury apartments there, while investment banks such as Shuaa Capital own shares in Lebanese companies. "We see no reason to allow a short-term political situation to have an impact on our long-term investment in Lebanon," said Peter Riddoch, the chief executive of Damac. The Khaleej Times reported that firms based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had around $2.7 billion-worth of projects under development in Beirut.

Such public support for Lebanon underlines local hostility to the Israeli assault. Beirut is an increasingly popular holiday destination that has benefited from strong investment from financiers in Dubai, as well as oil producers in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The commitment by Gulf investors to stick by their plans is partly motivated by a high level of risk tolerance, but also by political sentiment. To abandon Lebanon in its hour of need would be seen as disloyal, and could cause real damage to a firm's reputation.

Gas trouble

Two of the UAE's most important energy companies, Dolphin Energy and Dana Gas, have reportedly been hit by supply concerns. The firms want to import gas from Qatar and Iran respectively to supply power stations in the UAE. But Dolphin Energy's plan-an undersea natural-gas line from Qatar to the UAE-ran into some trouble in early July, when Saudi Arabia complained that it crossed Saudi territory and "cannot be constructed without the agreement of the kingdom." Reports quoted a memo faxed by the Saudi government to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which is helping to finance the development. State-backed Dolphin Energy insisted the line runs "exclusively" through Qatari and Emirati waters. Dana Gas, a smaller listed energy company based in Sharjah, has also had some challenges importing gas. The Iranian government is reportedly blocking exports to the company because of a price dispute. Dana Gas denied this in July, saying that delays were due to "technical problems" on the Iranian side.

Despite its vast natural resources, the UAE plans to import cleaner gas to generate electricity. The gas produced in Abu Dhabi's own fields is of relatively poor quality, high in sulphur and not well suited to electricity production. The potential supply problems could have significant implications for the country's fast-growing energy needs.

Retailers needing therapy

Dubai's vibrant shopping community has turned its back on luxury goods, as a combination of falling stockmarkets, rising rents and the war in Lebanon have hit consumer confidence. A survey by Standard Chartered bank found that sales of luxury goods in July were about 20% below retailers' expectations. UAE nationals are feeling the impact of a stockmarket that lost over two-thirds of its value between November 2005 and July 2006. Many had borrowed heavily to speculate, and when the market turned, their debts left little spare cash for handbags and jewellery. Expatriates, meanwhile, have been hit by rising rents and school fees, and the city's large Lebanese community-renowned as the most fashion-conscious group in Dubai-has shunned shopping malls in order to send money home to those trapped in the violence.

Flower power

In keeping with its role as a hub for opulence, Dubai opened a huge flower warehouse in July. The state-owned Dubai Flower Centre can handle 180,000 tonnes of such perishables each year, offering a bridge between flower-producing nations in Africa and major markets in Asia and Europe. With temperatures soaring above 40ºC and humidity close to 100% when the centre opened in July, Dubai seems an unlikely location for an agricultural depot. But such considerations hold little sway for a desert city that is already home to one of the world's largest indoor ski slopes-with real snow. The flowers will be held in huge, air-conditioned silos close to Dubai International Airport before flying to their final destination.

Train takes strain

Dubai has announced a large expansion of its urban rail project, Dubai Metro, as increasing congestion on its roads threatens the city's competitiveness. The original plan, unveiled in 2005, was to build two lines across the city with 70km of track, at a cost of around $4 billion. However, the state-owned Al Bayan daily has reported that the project is to be expanded to four lines and 320km, at a cost of an additional $9 billion. Construction work has already begun on the first two lines, which are due to enter service in 2009. All four lines should be operational by 2012.
Convincing Dubai's car-mad commuters to use the new system won't be easy. The government hopes to entice middle- and upper-income passengers with air-conditioned and first-class carriages. There will also be carriages reserved for women and children. If that is not persuasion enough, the government will introduce road tolls, although the timing for this move has not been finalised yet.

Catch if you can

August 2006

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

August 29th-September 1st 2006

One of London's longest-running shows enjoys a short stint in Dubai this summer. This acclaimed comedy covers each of Shakespeare's 37 plays in just 97 minutes. If you fancy seeing "Othello" presented as a rap song and "Titus Andronicus" as a cooking show, plus "Hamlet" performed forwards and backwards, head to the Madinat Jumeirah resort.

Madinat Theatre, Jumeirah. Tel: +971 (0)4 3666-550. Tickets: 135 dirhams ($37). See the hotel's website or the production's website.

More from the Dubai cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Johannesburg Briefing - July 2006

News this month

Handing in the homework

In July South Africa handed its self-assessment report to the peer-review team of the African Union (AU). The team will judge South Africa and 25 other African countries against specific, AU-set targets in an exercise to improve political stability and economic development on the continent. The peer-review team will submit a draft report of its own appraisal to the South African government in September, with a final report to be made public next year.

The self-assessment was conducted by members of the government and civil groups, with feedback from individual provinces and over 5m South Africans. Concentrating on poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment and health, it apparently highlights corruption and is critical of the government’s HIV/AIDS record. Among the problems highlighted in Gauteng, Johannesburg's province, were the explosive growth of urban areas, unemployment, violence against women and children, poverty and crime. Nigeria's Adebayo Adedeji, who heads the review team, congratulated Gauteng for its high level of participation. Still, the opposition Democratic Alliance said the review understates the problem of crime, and some civil groups have complained that their contributions were partly ignored.

Kicking off

After the World Cup football tournament came to a dramatic end in Germany on July 9th, eyes turned to South Africa, which will host the event in 2010. Questions have been raised about South Africa's ability to host the event, in particular its lack of infrastructure, poor transport links and high crime. But FIFA, world football’s governing body, and Danny Jordaan, who heads South Africa’s organising committee, have rejected rumours that the tournament may be moved to Australia. South Africa has already unveiled the official logo and announced host cities and stadiums.

Wolfgang Nowak, a former senior German politician, chaired a two-day conference of planning experts in early July to assess Johannesburg and discuss solutions to its big-city problems. He said the city was capable of meeting the challenges of hosting the World Cup. Some games will take place in two Johannesburg stadiums, which the authorities are upgrading at a cost of several hundred million rand. The FNB Stadium will be expanded and given a roof, and new developments are planned for the area around Ellis Park. Smaller stadiums in the city may host warm-up matches or training sessions. Provincial authorities have also unveiled a new crime-fighting strategy, which involves more roadblocks, police training and community participation.

Gautrain coming

Work on the Gautrain, a high-speed rail link between Pretoria and Johannesburg, is slowly making progress. Among the many challenges met by the project have been objections from residents living along the proposed route. But in mid-July the Gauteng government ruled that construction on the uncontested portions could begin, before outstanding legal battles are settled. This should avoid yet more delays in completing the 20-billion-rand ($2.8 billion) project.

The Gautrain is meant to relieve congestion between the two cities. Jack van der Merwe, the project's leader, said in July that traffic congestion has become so bad that measures including toll roads and high-occupancy vehicle lanes should be introduced. Thanks to a growing middle class, a strong economy and unreliable public transport, car sales in South Africa are booming, increasing by almost 19% in the past year. As South Africa’s most urbanised province, Gauteng's traffic problems are particularly bad.

Healthy management

Hospitals in Gauteng province are now able to run their own affairs. Brian Hlongwa, the new provincial minister for health, announced on July 10th that local-government authorities will no longer control human resources, facilities and budgets at Gauteng's 28 hospitals. The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, the country’s largest medical facility, was the first to get its new powers.

Public hospitals have been plagued by delays and poor service, which many have blamed on the fact that most decisions, from ordering supplies to maintaining discipline, were managed by provincial authorities. Last fiscal year, Gauteng's hospitals and clinics failed to spend 44m rand of their maintenance budget. Gauteng is the first province to implement Thabo Mbeki's recommendation to decentralise hospital management, which the president made in his state of the nation address earlier this year.

JIA no more

Johannesburg International Airport, until 1994 named after Jan Smuts, a Boer general, is set to be renamed after Oliver Tambo, an iconic figure of the African National Congress, who died in 1993. The public has until the end of July to comment on the proposal, which has already been approved by Pallo Jordan, the minister for art and culture, and is therefore expected to be enacted once all comments have been received. The opposition Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus parties have criticised the decision, which they say will be costly and confuse tourists. But the South African public seems largely unbothered. The proposal to change Pretoria's name to Tshwane, which seems to have been shelved for the moment, attracted a much more passionate response.

Catch if you can

July 2006

Rembrandt 400 years

Until September 17th 2006

For the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt van Rijn's birth, the Johannesburg Art Gallery is showing its collection of the Dutch master’s work. The exhibition features 41 copperplate etchings, acquired in 1934, which reveal Rembrandt's tremendous skill as a printmaker. He experimented with several techniques, such as dry-point, often combining them in a single work. As in his paintings, the chiaroscuro—or dramatic use of darkness and light—is particularly notable. The show also includes prints by Rembrandt's Dutch predecessors and contemporaries, and the gallery is hosting a series of related lectures.

Johannesburg Art Gallery, Corner of Klein and King George Sts, Joubert Park. Tel: +27 (0)11 725 3130. Open: Tues-Sun 10am-5pm.

More from the Johannesburg cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Chicago Briefing - July 2006

News this month

Who's afraid of the big bad box

A city council meeting on July 26th may decide the future of “big-box” stores in Chicago. The council will vote on a living-wage law, which requires large retail stores to pay employees a minimum hourly wage of $9.25 plus $1.50 in benefits. The law also mandates increases in both wages and benefits every year until 2010, when the stores would pay $10 in wages and $3 in benefits per hour. Employers would then have to adjust pay in accordance with the local cost-of-living. The law would affect all stores with over 90,000 square feet of retail space and $1 billion in total annual sales—in effect some 40 stores in Chicago, including Marshall Field’s, Nordstrom, Sears, Home Depot, Target and Wal-Mart.

Both Wal-Mart and Target have warned that if the measure passes, they will reconsider their plans to expand in Chicago. A coalition of ministers and community leaders from Chicago’s poor South Side held a protest rally against the ordinance on July 17th, saying their neighbourhoods need the jobs and cheap goods offered by the big-box stores. Supporters, including a majority of the city council and the powerful United Food and Commercial Workers union, suspect the stores are bluffing; Chicago, they contend, is too big a market to give up.

Flying to a new nest

United Airlines has succumbed to the city's courtship, and plans to move its headquarters back to downtown Chicago. The company, lured by financial incentives from the city and state, announced in mid-July that it would return from Elk Grove, a Chicago suburb, reversing the move it made in 1961. After emerging from bankruptcy in February, the airline had been considering moving to Denver or San Francisco. But local politicians offered a $5.25m city tax break and $1.35m in state grants for job training and infrastructure improvement. Both Richard Daley, Chicago’s mayor, and Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois, promised to push for legislation to cap the jet-fuel tax for airlines in the next five years.

During the first quarter of 2007, about 350 management-level employees will move to United’s new headquarters on Wacker Drive; analysts say the transfer will save the company about $7m in the short term, and millions more in the long term. After such companies as Amoco, Quaker and Searle moved their headquarters from the region, Mr Blagojevich desperately wanted to keep Chicago from losing yet another Fortune 500 business—particularly one that employs 16,000 people in the state.

Fat chance

When a city’s culinary strengths are hot dogs, greasy deep-dish pizzas and Italian meat sandwiches of mysterious provenance, it stands to reason that obesity and diabetes are serious problems. But after Men’s Fitness magazine named Chicago America’s fattest city in its annual survey, published in January, one councilman set out to put Chicagoans on a diet. In late June Edward Burke proposed making it illegal for restaurants to cook with trans-fat-laden oils, which raise cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. Those who dare use such oils would face daily fines of $200-$1,000. Some have hailed the plan; others condemn it as further meddling in residents' personal lives—the proposal follows a humanitarian ban on foie gras in restaurants, and comes amid schemes to outlaw smoking on the beach and force cabbies to dress better.

Meanwhile, a study commissioned by LaSalle Bank and released on July 18th found higher rates of diabetes, obesity and a range of cancers in “food deserts”—the poor, mostly black neighbourhoods on the city’s south and west sides with few grocery stores but many fast-food restaurants. On average, black Chicagoans travel about 0.6 miles to a grocery store, compared with a city average of 0.45 miles.

Fun and games

A rousing welcome from Mayor Daley kicked off the seventh annual Gay Games on July 17th. Some 12,000 homosexual athletes from 70 countries flocked to Chicago for eight days of sports and cultural events. A lively closing ceremony on July 22nd was headlined by Cyndi Lauper, a pop-singer known for hits from the 1980s, dressed as a rainbow-coloured Statue of Liberty. The games went smoothly, though some controversy was inevitable: in the conservative suburb of Crystal Lake, several residents protested against the games and preached against homosexuality; and on July 18th Repent America, a Christian group, filed a lawsuit claiming that Chicago police had kept them from distributing flyers during the games.

The mayor and other supporters of the Gay Games hope this year’s event will be the first to turn a profit, and perhaps boost Chicago’s profile as a potential host for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Unconfirmed reports make Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles the three American finalists for the 2016 games.

Summer in the city

This year has been the hottest on record in the continental United States, with particularly oppressive heat throughout the north-east and Midwest in mid-July. In Chicago, the warm temperatures revived unwelcome memories of July 1995, when a heat wave killed 735 people, most of them elderly. The city government has set up cooling centres across Chicago to ward off a repeat of that year’s calamity, which claimed more victims than the Great Chicago Fire.

Meanwhile, record demand on the electric grid followed by violent thunderstorms knocked out power for 100,000 customers across Chicago on July 18th. Electricity was restored for most people the next morning. The heat thankfully ebbed by the following weekend.

Catch if you can

July 2006

Harry Callahan: The Photographer at Work

Until September 24th 2006

You would be hard-pressed to find a photographer who snapped so many pictures and kept so few as Harry Callahan, a post-war American photographer, who did much of his best work in Chicago. When he wasn't teaching photography, Callahan spent his mornings walking the streets and taking pictures—first in Detroit, then Chicago and finally in Providence—and his afternoons developing the day's prints. Yet for all this work, he produced only about six final images each year.

Callahan's work is intensely personal, and his main subjects are Eleanor, his wife, and Barbara, his daughter. This exhibition features about 125 photographs, along with their corresponding negatives, proof prints, contact sheets and unpublished alternative developments of the same negatives. The wealth of material sheds new light on the decision-making process of this most meticulous artist, who died in 1999.

The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Ave. Tel: +1 (312) 443-3600. Open: Mon-Wed 10.30am-5pm; Thurs-Fri 10.30am-9pm; Sat-Sun 10am-5pm. Entry: $12. For more information, visit the Institute’s website.

More from the Chicago cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Hong Kong Briefing - August 2006

News this month

Anson ascending

A woman who was once one of Hong Kong's most revered public servants has re-emerged as a possible candidate for chief executive. Anson Chan Fang On-sang resigned as chief secretary (the administration's second-highest post) in 2001. She has returned to the spotlight with a strong pro-democracy message, and has not ruled out a bid for the city's top job, now held by Donald Tsang. A committee of 800 people, largely representing Beijing and big business, will elect a chief executive in March. Ms Chan's strident calls for reform make her unpopular in Beijing, but the government is reportedly wary of quashing her campaign, which could simply fuel the pro-democracy movement.

Ms Chan has spent the last year boosting her profile, with many appearances at pro-democracy events. In a speech at the city's famed Foreign Correspondents' Club in July, she criticised Mr Tsang's reforms as too meagre and said she would form a small group to devise a plan for achieving universal suffrage. There were plenty of people eager to hear her ideas-the room was completely full and extra screens had to be installed in the club's bar to accommodate overflow. However, a recent poll by the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies found that if residents could actually vote for the next chief executive-which they can't-only 24.5% would support Ms Chan, compared with 53.6% for Mr Tsang.

I spy

A long battle over privacy rights came to an end of sorts on August 6th, when Hong Kong's Legislative Council (Legco) passed a bill to regulate police surveillance. The law, which will go into effect on August 9th, creates a system of secret courts to issue warrants for surveillance and wiretapping. The bill was very contentious: it was passed after a 57-hour debate, one of the longest in Legco's history. Many pro-democracy legislators staged a walk-out after the majority of council members rejected all 200 amendments that they had put forward, then failed to include a "sunset clause" that would nullify the law after two years unless it was renewed.

Controversy over the measure is likely to continue. In the first week of August Legco's president barred pro-democracy legislators from proposing 20 further amendments, pointing to a rule that prevents the tabling of amendments that would incur further costs. Now one legislator, Leung Kwok-hung, wants to challenge such rules in court. Human-rights groups, meanwhile, contend that the new warrant system is unconstitutional under Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

Trying to sell a tax

After years of talk, Hong Kong officials are finally trying to widen the city's tax base. In July Henry Tang Ying-yen, the financial secretary, proposed setting a flat 5% goods-and-services tax (GST). The levy would produce about HK$30 billion ($3.86 billion) annually. The public has until March 2007 to comment on the scheme, but the tax is already under siege. Critics say that the GST could compromise Hong Kong's attractiveness to global businesses, and place an undue burden on the poor. Mr Tang has suggested various solutions to these problems, including more aid to poor families, cuts in other taxes and a promise that the GST would not apply to financial services.

Mr Tang argues that this proposal is a good way to beef up Hong Kong's flimsy tax revenues. The government does not tax dividends or capital gains, relying mainly on taxes from salaries, business profits and land sales. This lax system has left the city's finances in a precarious position-a problem that became painfully clear after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which triggered six years of recession and a series of government deficits. Only 17% of Hong Kong residents pay the salaries tax, as most do not earn above the tax-free threshold, set this year at $HK100,000. Even those who are taxed pay only a small share of their income; this year's maximum tax rate was 19%. Meanwhile the land-sales tax is particularly vulnerable to swings in the property market, and critics say it gives developers too much sway over government policies. Still, calls for fiscal prudence may fall flat, particularly at a time when Hong Kong's economy is going strong-GDP grew by 8.2% in the first quarter, compared with a year earlier.

Sell out

The bidding war for the telecommunications and media assets of PCCW, Hong Kong's largest fixed-line operator, fizzled out at the end of July, when the company rejected a foreign takeover. In late June news broke that Australia's Macquarie Bank had offered HK$40 billion for PCCW's broadband television, fixed-line and mobile-telephone businesses. Newbridge Capital, part of Texas Pacific Group, an American private-equity firm, soon placed its own bid for the assets. But on July 25th PCCW announced that it had called off talks with both bidders because of objections from China Netcom, a state-owned company with a 20% stake in PCCW, over foreign ownership of such "strategic" utilities.

The foreign bids were effectively thwarted two weeks earlier, when Richard Li Tzar-kai, PCCW's chairman, sold his 22.6% stake for HK$9.16 billion to Francis Leung Pak-to, an associate of Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man and father of Mr Li. Many suspect this deal had less to do with boosting PCCW's stock value than with pleasing the mainland government. A committee of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong's partially elected parliament, is investigating the matter, and at least one foreign shareholder group, the Securities Investors Association of Singapore, has threatened legal action over the way the deal was handled.

Buzz kill

The fatal overdose of a teenage girl has prompted a crackdown on drug-dealing in Hong Kong's nightclubs. Chek Wai-yin, aged 13, died from a suspected overdose of ecstasy and ketamine after leaving a popular nightclub in Kowloon on the morning of July 26th. Her death was followed by reports that the number of teenagers being arrested for drug offences rose by more than one-third from 2004 to 2005, and that prostitutes were openly selling cocaine in one of the island's more popular party spots. Police have responded by staging more raids of busy night-spots, to the chagrin of club operators. They are not only searching revellers, but also distributing leaflets and giving lectures on the perils of drug abuse.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Harbin Ice Lantern Festival

Until September 17th 2006

Hong Kong, now wilting in the summer heat, is not the most natural site for an ice lantern festival. Nevertheless, a refrigerated room in a shopping mall is presenting the work of 22 ice-carvers from northern China. Harbin, in the far north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, is renowned for its winter festival, when the city is transformed by massive sculptures of snow and ice. While the festival in Hong Kong does not have works on such a grand scale, the lanterns are impressive in their detail. Visitors can marvel at scale models of Beijing's Forbidden City and the Shenzhou 6 rocket, which blasted China's first astronauts into space.

The festival has proved a hit with locals seeking respite from the city's tropical summer, with children coming to cool their bottoms on a 14-metre ice slide. For visitors who linger too long, St John's Ambulance has established a post to treat hypothermia.

Cityplaza, 18 Taikoo Shing Rd, Taikoo Shing (take the Blue MTR line direct to the mall). Tel: +852 2568 8665. Admission: HK$20.

More from the Hong Kong cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Hong Kong Briefing - August 2006

News this month

Anson ascending

A woman who was once one of Hong Kong's most revered public servants has re-emerged as a possible candidate for chief executive. Anson Chan Fang On-sang resigned as chief secretary (the administration's second-highest post) in 2001. She has returned to the spotlight with a strong pro-democracy message, and has not ruled out a bid for the city's top job, now held by Donald Tsang. A committee of 800 people, largely representing Beijing and big business, will elect a chief executive in March. Ms Chan's strident calls for reform make her unpopular in Beijing, but the government is reportedly wary of quashing her campaign, which could simply fuel the pro-democracy movement.

Ms Chan has spent the last year boosting her profile, with many appearances at pro-democracy events. In a speech at the city's famed Foreign Correspondents' Club in July, she criticised Mr Tsang's reforms as too meagre and said she would form a small group to devise a plan for achieving universal suffrage. There were plenty of people eager to hear her ideas-the room was completely full and extra screens had to be installed in the club's bar to accommodate overflow. However, a recent poll by the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies found that if residents could actually vote for the next chief executive-which they can't-only 24.5% would support Ms Chan, compared with 53.6% for Mr Tsang.

I spy

A long battle over privacy rights came to an end of sorts on August 6th, when Hong Kong's Legislative Council (Legco) passed a bill to regulate police surveillance. The law, which will go into effect on August 9th, creates a system of secret courts to issue warrants for surveillance and wiretapping. The bill was very contentious: it was passed after a 57-hour debate, one of the longest in Legco's history. Many pro-democracy legislators staged a walk-out after the majority of council members rejected all 200 amendments that they had put forward, then failed to include a "sunset clause" that would nullify the law after two years unless it was renewed.

Controversy over the measure is likely to continue. In the first week of August Legco's president barred pro-democracy legislators from proposing 20 further amendments, pointing to a rule that prevents the tabling of amendments that would incur further costs. Now one legislator, Leung Kwok-hung, wants to challenge such rules in court. Human-rights groups, meanwhile, contend that the new warrant system is unconstitutional under Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

Trying to sell a tax

After years of talk, Hong Kong officials are finally trying to widen the city's tax base. In July Henry Tang Ying-yen, the financial secretary, proposed setting a flat 5% goods-and-services tax (GST). The levy would produce about HK$30 billion ($3.86 billion) annually. The public has until March 2007 to comment on the scheme, but the tax is already under siege. Critics say that the GST could compromise Hong Kong's attractiveness to global businesses, and place an undue burden on the poor. Mr Tang has suggested various solutions to these problems, including more aid to poor families, cuts in other taxes and a promise that the GST would not apply to financial services.

Mr Tang argues that this proposal is a good way to beef up Hong Kong's flimsy tax revenues. The government does not tax dividends or capital gains, relying mainly on taxes from salaries, business profits and land sales. This lax system has left the city's finances in a precarious position-a problem that became painfully clear after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which triggered six years of recession and a series of government deficits. Only 17% of Hong Kong residents pay the salaries tax, as most do not earn above the tax-free threshold, set this year at $HK100,000. Even those who are taxed pay only a small share of their income; this year's maximum tax rate was 19%. Meanwhile the land-sales tax is particularly vulnerable to swings in the property market, and critics say it gives developers too much sway over government policies. Still, calls for fiscal prudence may fall flat, particularly at a time when Hong Kong's economy is going strong-GDP grew by 8.2% in the first quarter, compared with a year earlier.

Sell out

The bidding war for the telecommunications and media assets of PCCW, Hong Kong's largest fixed-line operator, fizzled out at the end of July, when the company rejected a foreign takeover. In late June news broke that Australia's Macquarie Bank had offered HK$40 billion for PCCW's broadband television, fixed-line and mobile-telephone businesses. Newbridge Capital, part of Texas Pacific Group, an American private-equity firm, soon placed its own bid for the assets. But on July 25th PCCW announced that it had called off talks with both bidders because of objections from China Netcom, a state-owned company with a 20% stake in PCCW, over foreign ownership of such "strategic" utilities.

The foreign bids were effectively thwarted two weeks earlier, when Richard Li Tzar-kai, PCCW's chairman, sold his 22.6% stake for HK$9.16 billion to Francis Leung Pak-to, an associate of Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man and father of Mr Li. Many suspect this deal had less to do with boosting PCCW's stock value than with pleasing the mainland government. A committee of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong's partially elected parliament, is investigating the matter, and at least one foreign shareholder group, the Securities Investors Association of Singapore, has threatened legal action over the way the deal was handled.

Buzz kill

The fatal overdose of a teenage girl has prompted a crackdown on drug-dealing in Hong Kong's nightclubs. Chek Wai-yin, aged 13, died from a suspected overdose of ecstasy and ketamine after leaving a popular nightclub in Kowloon on the morning of July 26th. Her death was followed by reports that the number of teenagers being arrested for drug offences rose by more than one-third from 2004 to 2005, and that prostitutes were openly selling cocaine in one of the island's more popular party spots. Police have responded by staging more raids of busy night-spots, to the chagrin of club operators. They are not only searching revellers, but also distributing leaflets and giving lectures on the perils of drug abuse.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Harbin Ice Lantern Festival

Until September 17th 2006

Hong Kong, now wilting in the summer heat, is not the most natural site for an ice lantern festival. Nevertheless, a refrigerated room in a shopping mall is presenting the work of 22 ice-carvers from northern China. Harbin, in the far north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, is renowned for its winter festival, when the city is transformed by massive sculptures of snow and ice. While the festival in Hong Kong does not have works on such a grand scale, the lanterns are impressive in their detail. Visitors can marvel at scale models of Beijing's Forbidden City and the Shenzhou 6 rocket, which blasted China's first astronauts into space.

The festival has proved a hit with locals seeking respite from the city's tropical summer, with children coming to cool their bottoms on a 14-metre ice slide. For visitors who linger too long, St John's Ambulance has established a post to treat hypothermia.

Cityplaza, 18 Taikoo Shing Rd, Taikoo Shing (take the Blue MTR line direct to the mall). Tel: +852 2568 8665. Admission: HK$20.

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Economist.com Cities Guide: Sao Paulo Briefing - August 2006

News this month

The violence continues

In July the war raging between São Paulo’s security forces and the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), an organised-crime gang, claimed 11 lives, paralysed transport and shocked a public still recovering from the May attacks, which killed over 170. Five of the most recent victims were off-duty prison guards. Gilberto Kassab, the mayor of São Paulo, deployed plain-clothes policemen on buses in an attempt to deter arsonists, who have left some 70 buses in flames. The PCC has pledged to continue attacks, promising more violence on August 13th.

The PCC is protesting against conditions in prisons where its leaders are held. After one riot in Araraquara, 273km from São Paulo, 1,443 prisoners were moved to a small courtyard for a week pending repair work, a decision that provoked fierce criticism from human-rights groups. On July 14th the federal government announced a 100m-reais ($45m) injection into São Paulo’s beleaguered prison system. Cláudio Lembo, the state governor, welcomed the money but insisted it was not enough for the state’s overcrowded jails. Federal funding for prisons has dropped by 85% since 1981.

Varig sold

On July 20th Brazil's government sold Varig, the national carrier, for $24m to VarigLog, its former cargo arm. VarigLog—recently purchased by a group of investors backed by an American private-equity firm, Matlin Patterson—pledged to invest around $500m in the troubled airline, and around $150m of that within 30 days of the sale. The new owners initially cancelled all Varig flights, but have since reinstated key domestic and international routes, on the demands of the Civil Aviation Authority. The company is now operating a fleet of just ten aircraft, but hopes to offer services to 12 Brazilian destinations and 11 foreign ones in the near future. On July 27th Varig fired 5,500 of its 9,485 employees, prompting strike threats.

The sale did not require VarigLog to assume Varig's $3.45 billion in debts. These remain with an “old Varig” (probably to be renamed Varig Nordeste), which will keep just 50 employees and one plane on the São Paulo to Porto Seguro route. The old Varig has judicial protection to hold off creditors while it restructures.

Murder most foul

A grisly tale of love and murder reached its end in court in late July, when a judge ruled that a young, middle-class woman had plotted the death of her parents. The captivating saga began in October 2002, when Marísa and Manfred von Richthofen (the great-nephew of Baron von Richthofen, the famous “Red Baron” pilot in the first world war) were bludgeoned to death with an iron bar as they slept in their smart São Paulo home. After a week-long trial that ended on July 22nd, it was confirmed that Suzane von Richthofen (who was 19 at the time) masterminded the killings, which her then lover, Daniel Cravinhos, and his brother Christian acted out. It seems the wealthy couple, who had assets estimated at 2m reais, thought that their daughter's boyfriend was too poor.

The accused all confessed to the crimes after the police started asking questions about how Christian Cravinhos had used dollars to buy a new motorcycle not long after the murders. The judge sentenced each of them to nearly 40 years in prison. Under state law, however, they can be moved to a semi-open prison in less than four years because of their ages at the time of the crime.

Mourning Stars

Two of Brazil’s leading actors have died within a week of each other in São Paulo. On July 18th Raul Cortez, who first impressed critics with his stage performances in the 1960s and 1970s, and was loved by millions for his film and television appearances in the 1980s, died from cancer at the age of 73. Two days later 120,000 people filed past his coffin at the city’s Municipal Theatre, and Mayor Gilberto Kassab spoke at his memorial service.

Then on July 22nd Gianfrancesco Guarnieri died from kidney failure at the age of 71. Mr Guarneri was born in Italy and came to Brazil when he was three. In 1958 he wrote a landmark play, “Eles não usam Black-Tie” (“They Don’t Wear Black Tie”), about the lives of workers. His most recent role was in “Belissima”, a popular soap opera.

Orchestrated competition

The first Villa-Lobos International Piano Competition, which takes place from August 14th-20th in São Paulo, is Brazil’s richest music contest. But it is being overshadowed by a fight between the organisers and the former director. After the competitors had been selected in April, Ilan Rechtman was fired for tampering with the selection process—he admitted changing some of the marks given by one of the judges. Mr Rechtman countered that John Neschling, the director of the São Paulo state symphony orchestra, who had hired him, had altered the list put forward by the selection committee in order to favour unworthy competitors, excluding three people who had already been notified of their acceptance.

On July 17th Mr Neschling issued a statement encouraging the 20 finalists to ignore the fuss and get practising. The winner of the $2.3m event gets $30,000 and a recording contract.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Cirque de Soleil's “Saltimbanco”

Until October 22nd 2006

Founded by street artists in Quebec in 1984, Cirque de Soleil has won international acclaim for its circus spectacles. The group's first visit to Brazil has generated considerable excitement—the run in São Paulo sold out within days, despite the high prices, and is expected to lure some 250,000 people. Authorities have installed traffic diversions and a special big top to deal with the crowds.

“Saltimbanco”, first performed in 1992, is Cirque de Soleil's oldest touring show. Divided into 12 parts, it uses acrobatics and the group’s signature visual treats to tell the story of a young boy's journey of self-discovery. Tickets may be available from some agencies and via the internet.

Ave Chedid Jafet at the corner of Ave Pres Juscelino Kubitschek, Vila Olímpia. Entrance: 100-400 reais. For tickets try www.ticketmaster.com.br and www.mercadolivre.com.br or phone +55 (0)11 6846-6000 (menu in Portuguese).

More from the Sao Paulo cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Tokyo Briefing - August 2006

News this month

Words from beyond

Among the millions of dead honoured at the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo are 14 war criminals. For this reason, visits by Japan's leaders to Yasukuni have long been controversial at home and abroad. On July 21st the shrine was once again in the spotlight when a man, thought to be a right-wing extremist, firebombed the Tokyo headquarters of the Nikkei newspaper. The attack, in which nobody was injured, came in response to a front-page story revealing that Emperor Hirohito refused to visit Yasukuni after the war criminals were first honoured in 1978.

News of Hirohito’s boycott has added a new dimension to the debate about the shrine, particularly for nationalists who love Yasukuni and hail Hirohito. But the Nikkei article may help whoever succeeds Mr Koizumi when he steps down in September: if the new prime minister decides not to visit Yasukuni, he can claim to be siding with the emperor, rather than bowing to Chinese pressure. Mr Koizumi, whose visits to the shrine have caused outrage in China and elsewhere, says he will make a final trip before leaving office. Many think this will happen on August 15th, the anniversary of the end of the second world war.

Nursing a solution

A change to Japan's immigration law could transform health care in the country. On July 31st an advisory panel on deregulation presented the prime minister with a plan to let foreign social-welfare workers and nurses work in Japan. The proposal comes in response to the country's growing elderly population, which is in dire need of care. It would add nurses and care-providers to the list of 27 occupations that foreigners can pursue in Japan, under the country’s Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law.

The plan has its critics in the government’s Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, who insist that Japan can meet the demand for nurses without turning to foreign workers. But most politicians seem to realise that skilled workers from the Philippines and other South-East Asian countries may be the only real solution, so long as the invention of the robot nurse remains a dream.

The emperor's new movie

Seventeen years after Emperor Hirohito's death, he seems to be at the centre of the summer’s controversies. Tokyo police believe that “Solntse” (“The Sun”), a critically acclaimed film about the emperor, will spark nationalist protests when it is released on August 6th. Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov, a Russian who has also made films about Lenin and Hitler, the film includes scenes in which the emperor appears indecisive and sometimes even childish. Such a depiction is thoroughly taboo for right-wing nationalists, who are against anything that taints the former emperor's image. These defenders of Japan's imperial family also abhor any hint that the emperor bore moral responsibility for the atrocities of the Pacific war.

“Solntse” has been ready for release for two years, but Japanese distributors have been reluctant to screen it, for fear of a violent backlash. Only two cinemas—in Tokyo and Nagoya—have offered to show the film. The film’s release date coincides with the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Capitalism 101

Japanese universities can be slow to change, but even the most conservative ones can no longer ignore the importance of educating people to work in finance. In July Tokyo University announced that a finance department would be created at the start of the next academic year, in April 2007. It will be the university’s first new department since 1919.

In part, the move is a belated response to Japan’s bad-loans crisis, which though mostly resolved by early 2005, still haunts a generation of financial professionals. The department will teach 70 students subjects ranging from derivatives to risk management. Also on the syllabus will be the principles of mergers and acquisitions—apt, given the department will be sponsored by Mizuho Financial Group, the product of a merger of three banks once in crisis because of their bad loans.

Scales of justice

Tokyo authorities will be closely watching a pilot programme in Shizuoka, in Japan’s Chubu region, that plans to use fish to detect any terrorist tampering with the water supply. The system, concocted by Shizuoka’s government in the wake of the September 11th attacks, will see schools of famously sensitive medaka fish released into selected parts of the water-filtration process in April 2007. If their behaviour changes in any of five significant ways, officials will trigger alarms and shut down the entire supply.

Scientists argue that the fish are a more efficient way of testing the water's quality. The existing system of chlorine treatments and other procedures can take up to 15 hours to detect a problem—five times longer than when using medakas.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon: Japan and Europe

Until August 24th 2006

Towards the end of his life, the syphilitic Edouard Manet (1832-1883) painted a beautiful floral piece, “Bouquet of Peonies”. The flowers are nestled in a vase with a Japanese motif: a character from Kabuki theatre called Sukeroku, brandishing a Japanese umbrella and striking a heroic pose. The painting, which hints at the European fascination with Japanese art in the late-19th century, is the centrepiece of this exhibition at the Hotel Okura. The 60 Edo-period paintings, both western and Japanese, allow visitors to compare the Japanese tradition of kachofugetsu—the painting of flowers, birds, wind and moons—with western traditions of still-lifes and landscapes.

Hotel Okura Tokyo, Ascot Hall, B2, South Wing, Toranomon 2-10-4, Minato-Ku. Tel: + 81 (0)3 3582-0001. Metro: Ginza line to Toranomon station or Hibiya line to Kamiyacho station. Open: daily, 10am-7pm (until 9pm Fri). See the website.

More from the Tokyo cultural calendar

Economist.com Cities Guide: Atlanta Briefing - August 2006

News this month

All bets are off

Georgia's bad-tempered Republican primary came to a dramatic close on July 18th when Ralph Reed lost the nomination for lieutenant-governor to Casey Cagle, a state senator. Mr Reed, a former head of the Christian Coalition, a conservative lobbying group, won 44% of the vote, against Mr Cagle’s 56%. A handsome, formidable politician, Mr Reed was expected to be a shoo-in, but he was wounded by links to Jack Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist at the centre of a federal investigation. In the late 1990s Mr Reed received $5.3m from an organisation run by Mr Abramoff, allegedly to lobby against casinos, according to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. At the time Mr Reed said that gambling destroyed families, but he may have been paid with money from rival casinos looking to block new competitors. He has not yet been charged with a crime.

Mr Reed's contest with Mr Cagle was notable for its nastiness, with each candidate bombarding voters with malicious television advertisements impugning the other. Mr Cagle will start the next leg of the race after August 8th, when Greg Hecht, a former state senator, and Jim Martin, a former state representative, face each other in a Democratic run-off. Mr Cagle's chances of defeating his Democratic opponent look good—most of the state's voters are Republicans. In the race for governor, Sonny Perdue, the Republican incumbent, is heavily favoured against Mark Taylor, the Democratic candidate and current lieutenant-governor.

Goodbye, Cynthia?

The state primary yielded another surprise: Cynthia McKinney, a controversial Democratic congresswoman from Georgia's fourth district, earned less than 50% of the vote, forcing her into an August 8th run-off with Hank Johnson, a lawyer and former DeKalb County commissioner. Insider Advantage, a conservative polling group, released a poll in late July showing that Mr Johnson led Ms McKinney by 46% to 21%. The two candidates split the district's black vote, but white voters heavily favoured Mr Johnson over Ms McKinney (both of whom are black). In the end, it may be Republican voters who fell the congresswoman: since Georgia does not require voters to register with a party, Republicans can “cross over” to vote in the Democratic primary, and help defeat Ms McKinney—precisely what happened in 2002. She regained her seat in 2004.

Ms McKinney is known for her passionate denouncements of the White House, putting her at odds with Georgia’s conservative voters. She prompted outrage in 2001 when she demanded to know whether George Bush had known about the September 11th attacks in advance. More recently she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Our president and vice-president...invited oil company execs to meet in secret and write the nation's energy policy, and we are all paying the price.” In March she attracted nationwide attention for allegedly striking a policeman, after he blocked her at a security check in a congressional office building. She accused him of stopping her because she was black.

What bubble?

As cities across America fret over a possible housing bubble, Atlantans are busy digesting news about their own hot property market. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's annual report on home sales, ten different zip codes in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, saw new-home sales increase by at least 50% between 2004 and 2005. The priciest homes, meanwhile, were selling in one part of Forsyth, considerably north of the city of Atlanta. There the median sales price for a home was $733,950, compared with metro Atlanta’s median of $169,900 for existing homes and $204,830 for new homes.

Meanwhile building continues apace. The Atlanta Regional Commission, which co-ordinates planning for the 28-county greater Atlanta area, issued more residential building permits in the first five months of 2006 than any other American metropolitan area, even fast-growing ones such as Orlando and Houston. Fulton County alone issued more than 8,000 residential building permits—a 22% increase over the same period in 2005.

Contract wars

As usual, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is at the centre of several disputes. The city of Atlanta, which runs the airport, is seeking bidders for a duty-free shop in the international concourse, which is expected to sell $10m in goods each year. But David Franklin, a businessman, and his partners sued in July, claiming that their firm won the contract in 2002. The city had cancelled the contract after a competing firm challenged the bid in court.

Complicating matters is the fact that Mr Franklin was once married to Shirley Franklin, Atlanta's mayor; they divorced in 1986, but have two children who work for Mr Franklin. Ms Franklin has said she will recuse herself from any business decision involving her ex-husband.
The airport is embroiled in two other suits as well. One firm is contesting the selection of a rival team to manage the airport’s indoor billboards. The airport is also the target of a lawsuit from Leo A. Daly, a firm once chosen to design a new international terminal; Ben DeCosta, the airport's general manager, fired the firm in 2005 after cost over-runs approached $140m. He is now seeking new designs for the terminal.

On the trail

The many cyclists and hikers who enjoy the 60-mile-long Silver Comet Trail have been shaken by a recent, brutal murder on the nature path. Jennifer Ewing, a 54-year-old mother of three, disappeared while riding her bike on July 25th. The next day, police found her body 40 feet off the trail, apparently bludgeoned to death. Michael Ledford, on probation for a 1991 rape charge, was charged on July 28th with her murder.

Regional planners fear that the publicised search for Mrs Ewing and the grisly nature of her death will discourage Atlantans from using local nature trails. The Silver Comet Trail, which runs from Smyrna in Cobb County, west of Atlanta, to the Alabama border, allows no motorised vehicles. Prior to the murder, only three incidents—all relatively minor—had been reported on the trail since January 2005, according to police. Ed McBrayer, head of the PATH Foundation, a non-profit group that has helped develop many of Atlanta's trails, defended Silver Comet but advised users to refrain from enjoying it alone.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Folk Fest 2006

August 18th-20th 2006

This celebration of folk art, produced largely by self-taught artists, pays tribute to a southern tradition that draws on mostly rural experiences. It includes pieces from well-known Atlanta galleries, such as Barbara Archer and Mason Murer, as well as from galleries in Chicago, Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Florida and Canada. Prices range considerably, so patrons tend to be both new and serious collectors. On August 18th there is a “Meet the Artists” party from 5pm.

North Atlanta Trade Centre, 1700 Jeurgens Ct, Norcross, GA 30093. Tel: +1 (770) 279 9899. Open: Fri 5pm-10pm; Sat 10am-7pm; Sun 10am-5pm. Entry: $15 for all the festival; $7 for Sat or Sun only. For more information, see the website.

More from the Atlanta cultural calendar