[Vision2020] It's alive, alive!
Phil Nisbet
pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com
Mon Jul 11 05:15:46 PDT 2005
I realize that it might just not have hit home for you Joan, but I do not
visit downtown, I live right next to it and have done so for the past five
years. And in that space of half a decade, many businesses have changed
hands or simply gone out of business in the downtown area. Though we do not
have boarded up shop fronts, the slow down in area business is significant
and is indeed cutting into the margins of local entrepreneurs. I have not
pronounced downtown Moscow dead-on-arrival, but I certainly think that if
you spend the time to ask business owners, they will tell you that they want
and need a stronger customer base, one with more cash to spend.
Its just grand that you are full of fight for things that matter to the
community, Joan, but did you ever stop to think that just maybe, fighting
all the time is part of the reason the community is weak. Strong
communities are built through consensus, not by lobbing hand grenades across
political trenches.
Moscow and Latah County do not have the votes needed to insure that the
University is not cherry picked of all the best new and existing programs.
The only way we have to insure that our University here is strong is to
build internal consensus and then to build coalitions with other rural areas
to get the votes to hold some clout in the Legislature.
What we need is support for leadership here. Our county commissioners need
to be leading the charge at the IAC to get other areas in the state
convinced that the U of I is not their enemy and find ways that we can be
their mentor in economic growth. We need support for LEDC and to help it to
spread the word to other economic development groups in the state that the U
of I is open for business and ready to help their areas as well. Those are
bridges we need to build and we have the people who can do that job, if they
get the support they need to set the foundations.
But we will not get there if all we do is internal squabbling or if we spend
the rest of our efforts attacking other rural and resource based counties
and communities. The U of I has to be seen as a help mate, not that bunch
of commies in Moscow, if we want the votes to counter balance Boises
population in legislative clout.
So if you feel like fighting, Joan, fight your inclination to bite peoples
heads off, roll up your sleeves and start building consensus with people you
normally disagree with.
Phil Nisbet
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