Bureaucracy
Rome Holocaust Museum Delayed by Red Tape
A starkly modern, $30 million Holocaust museum will soon rise on the site of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s Rome residence. But what exactly does ‘soon’ mean?
Jewish Businessman Ardi Goldman Invests in Frankfurt: Visions Successful Despite City Limitations
Until a decade ago this was the site of a rundown industrial zone in the east end of Frankfurt, and then Ardi Goldman, a German Jewish investor and developer, transformed it into what you now see — a high tech complex and a commercial area. Goldman says that as he sets himself to help rebuild and improve his hometown Frankfurt, his visionary plans are repeatedly turned down by the city’s bureaucracy, it seems that Goldman has to combat city regulations on a daily basis. Goldman placed himself on the map a decade ago by transforming an old brewery in the East End of Frankfurt into a vibrant high-tech and culture center. Then, in 2010, Goldman presented a plan to rebuild the old diamond exchange building, in downtown Frankfurt, into what he describes as a spectacular residential complex, but the city denied him a building permit. But Goldman is not giving up and now his plan for the old diamond exchange is to turned it into an office tower and a shopping mall, and give small business owners with little capital a chance to open stores in Frankfurt’s main shopping area. Ardi Goldman is often described in the German media as a visionary businessman but with his feet on the ground. Wilson Ruiz, Jewish News One, Germany.
The Problem with Dry-Cleaning
I was at my local grocery store this weekend, standing in line at the checkout. I saw that the line next to mine was moving faster. With stealthy Soviet queue analysis skills acquired only by years of living with Russian parents, I scanned the lines, assessed the length of time, and made a beeline into the line next to mine. I got through the checkout maybe ten seconds faster than I would have in the other line. I won.