Five Ideas: What are your thoughts on these items in the news this week?

The Forsee-able future

After a yearlong search to find a replacement for Elson Floyd, the UM System found a man “humbled and honored” to head up the leadership of its four campuses. Gary Forsee, the former CEO of Sprint Nextel, is already facing questions about how he will translate his career in business to the world of academia.

Forsee, however, doesn’t think his corporate background will hold him back but rather that it will allow him to showcase skills required of a leader. He said he knows how to compete for resources, such as the brightest students and the best faculty. He knows the importance of innovation. And he knows how to adapt to change.

It’s this experience that led the UM Board of Curators to choose the 57-year-old Forsee, said Don Walsworth, president of the UM Board of Curators. “He will take UM beyond most people’s dreams,” Walsworth said.

Forsee will take over on Feb. 18. He said the next two months will be devoted to answering the question: “What’s Gary Forsee about?”

What are the pros and cons of hiring a corporate executive to run the University of Missouri system?

Car crossing

Residents persuaded the Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission to table a plan for a major development, which would include an automobile dealership at Stadium Boulevard and U.S. 63.

Plans by Stadium 63 Properties LLC called for not only the car lot and accompanying automotive business on the land, but also for restaurants, banks and other retail businesses. The development would be called the “Crosscreek Center.”

Because the developers had already reached an agreement with the city under which car lots were prohibited on the land, they returned to seek permission for the change of plans. City staff in a report to the commission recommended the request be approved, saying the property was a perfectly appropriate place for a car dealership

But the proximity of a potential automobile dealership to Grindstone Creek prompted protests from residents worried about the health of the stream, which they feared would be compromised by runoff and pollution from the car lot. That, and a car dealership would be an ugly use of property at a major entrance to the city.

How concerned are you about the health of Grindstone Creek?

TAKEN TO TASK

Columbia’s Civilian Oversight task force drilled Police Chief Randy Boehm and attorney Dan Viets, of the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, on creating a civilian board to oversee the Columbia Police Department.

Boehm based his argument against a board on recommendations by Aaron Thompson, a consultant at a Kentucky-based firm. The Police Department is putting those recommendations into effect in the new year by implementing a new police unit and changed policies. One of the key changes, Boehm noted, will require officers investigating a complaint to respond within seven days.

Viets wants a citizen review board that could complement the Professional Standards Unit. The task force questioned Viets on the financial risks, and the adequacy of supporting evidence to indicate there’s a problem with the police in Columbia.

“An external review will be much more credible to our community than an internal review,” Viets said.

The task force is charged with creating a report on the necessity of oversight of the Police Department’s policies and procedures.

Do you think the police do a good job of policing themselves? Why?

RUDY’S VISIT

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani told a standing-room-only crowd in Columbia on Wednesday that, if elected, he will make the United States “safer and more prosperous” before he leaves office.

The former mayor of New York City said America faces serious issues and problems, but that the country has the strength and resources to overcome them. He said while his experiences as mayor of New York represented a different set of challenges, he tried to model himself after former President Ronald Reagan.

“Sixty to 70 percent of Americans think the U.S. is going in the wrong direction” he said. “You have the solutions. It’s the job of the government to energize, not solve the problems for you.”

Giuliani wants a bigger military, better intelligence and a stronger Patriot Act. He said he believes in “intense questioning, but not torture.”

Jed Smock, known around MU as Brother Jed, was one of about 250 people at the event. He said he thinks Giuliani has the best chance to beat a Democrat in the race for the White House.

Who do you think should be the Republican nominee for president?

STOP THE MADNESS

Community leaders gathered at Friendship Baptist Church for a panel discussion that gave the public an opportunity to speak and ask questions of education and law enforcement representatives.

The panel — Columbia Schools Superintendent Phyllis Chase, Mayor Darwin Hindman, police officer Mike Hayes, Lorenzo Lawson of the Youth Empowerment Zone and Phil Steinhaus of the Columbia Housing Authority — agreed that programs that give youth important life skills can help resolve a recent increase in violent crime in Columbia.

Lawson brought up the importance of taking care of Columbia’s underprivileged youth, who often face social and economic disadvantages from birth. Many of these youths have been behind from the beginning, Lawson said, and there needs to be programs to help at-risk youth from prenatal to college.

“We’re talking about preventing crime,” Lawson said, not about catching them quicker after they commit a crime.

Chase agreed. “We need to be a strong partner in the prevention of violence,” she said.

Which do you think is more effective at reducing crime: tougher law enforcement or more social service and educational programs? Why?