[Vision2020] Council Far From Anti-Growth

[Sunil Ramalingam]

Chris,

How much is beer up there?  If I remember, it's about $2 more a six pack 
than in the Lower 48.

Sunil


>From: Chris Storhok <cstorhok at co.fairbanks.ak.us>
>To: "'keely emerinemix'" <kjajmix1 at msn.com>, deco at moscow.com,        
>vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Council Far From Anti-Growth
>Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 13:37:38 -0900
>
>I find this discussion interesting as it cuts to the heart of my 
>profession.
>Keeping the dollar in circulation within a community is one of the toughest
>yet most critical aspects of economic development.
>For example, when my family and I lived in Latah County we purchased almost
>all of our food items from Moscow with the exception of runs to Potlatch 
>for
>items that we ran out of and needed immediately (baking soda, sugar,
>charcoal, etc.)  The Potlatch grocery store was just too expensive to make
>monthly supply runs too (besides both my wife and I worked in Moscow and
>would just pick our supplies up there).  We shopped at the nursery in
>Potlatch and the drug store in Potlatch, almost everything else was
>purchased in Moscow.
>	However, when J.C. Penny's closed in the Palouse Mall we had to make
>runs to either Spokane or Coeur d' Alene for clothes for my wife and
>daughters since none of them wore Size 1 in the latest fashions that were
>cool for college kids and we sure the heck were not going to pay Bon (now
>Macy's) prices for clothes that wore out anyway.   We never really shopped
>in Lewiston or Clarkston since it was just as easy to travel to Coeur d'
>Alene or Spokane.
>	Moscow shopping was enjoyable and easy; most stores were well
>stocked with their specialty items, and prices were competitive.  I loved
>the customer service we received from almost every store in town, and I 
>have
>only fond memories now of that type of service....I even loved working with
>Moscow car dealers and auto repair shops.
>
>	No one has heard of customer service in Fairbanks, shopping here is
>just plain hell, everything is at least 30% higher than Moscow, finding a
>sales clerk is impossible and forget competent workers as they all are
>working within the tourist industry and getting paid better than at 
>Safeway,
>Wal-Mart, etc.)  My wife and I shop at the Safeway in North Pole (paying
>even more than Fairbanks) because customer service actually exists and 
>their
>meats/seafood guy stocks the store with cuts and seafood of such high
>quality that I am more than willing to pay the higher prices.  I love our
>Friday seafood shipments, we get both king ($5/lb) and dungeonous crab
>($3.5/lb) that is fresh and never frozen - I have never tasted crab this
>good.  (Alright, there is one nice advantage about living up here...the
>seafood)
>
>Chris Storhok
>
>