[Vision2020] real economic development in Moscow

[lfalen]

Tom
I don't disagree with anything that you have said. My point is why limit it to just high tech jobs.
Roger
-----Original message-----
From: Tom Hansen idahotom at hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:55:41 -0700
To: Bill London london at moscow.com,  lfalen lfalen at turbonet.com,  v2020vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] real economic development in Moscow

> In my opinion, it is really quite simple, Mr. Falen.
>  
> The retail stores will follow the high tech jobs into town alot quicker than high tech jobs will follow retail stores.
>  
> As more and more high tech jobs are available here in Moscow, more and more people will seek those high-tech (pronounced "high paying") jobs.
>  
> As more and more people fill those high tech, high paying jobs, the more money there is flowing around the city of Moscow.
>  
> Also, as these jobs develop into careers, people holding those jobs evolve from a person to a couple to a family.
>  
> As more and more money is distributed around the city of Moscow (by these persons, couples, families), more and more retail outlets will establish themselves in Moscow.
>  
> And just FYI, Mr. Falen:  That, to me, is GROWTH.
>  
> If you think that by flooding the city of Moscow with retail store after retail store after retail store, this will attract the high tech jobs, you are only fooling yourself.
>  
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> 
> 
> > From: london at moscow.com> To: lfalen at turbonet.com; vision2020 at moscow.com> Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:36:59 -0700> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] real economic development in Moscow> > R-> You missed the point.> These high-tech jobs can go anywhere. All towns want them.> The entrepreneurs can be choosy, and they are choosy. They want towns with > a high quality of life.> If Moscow sacrifices its high quality of life for (what you describe as) > "almost anything that will provide jobs, increase the tax base and improve > the overall economy", then we lose what now attracts these high-tech jobs.> You just can not have it both ways.> I want to live in a town that maintains its high quality of life and > therefore is attractive to high-tech jobs -- not a town that has no > standards but goes for any growth.> BL> > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "lfalen" <lfalen at turbonet.com>> To: "Bill London" <london at moscow.com>; "v2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>> Sent: Tuesday, Octob!
 er 23,
2007 10:34 AM> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] real economic development in Moscow> > > >I can't argue with bringing in high-tech companies, I'm all for it. I think > >Moscow should try to attract all kinds of businesses. It is fine to place > >controls on those that would create undue pollution. Other than that > >promote almost anything that will provide jobs, increase the tax base and > >improve the overall economy.> > Roger> > -----Original message-----> > From: "Bill London" london at moscow.com> > Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:58:18 -0700> > To: "v2020" vision2020 at moscow.com> > Subject: [Vision2020] real economic development in Moscow> >> >>> >> Today's Tribune article about the MCA forum held last night is a great > >> summary of the choices facing Moscow voters in this council election. > >> Vote for the future with MCA endorsed candidates and Moscow will aim for > >> both maintaining its uniqueness and attracting more entrepreneurial > >> businesses. My thanks to the MCA board f!
 or
sponsoring this forum. BL> >>> >> ----------------> >> Is high-tech the key to Moscow's future?> >> Forum sponsored by Moscow Civic Association brings together business and > >> community leaders> >> By David Johnson> >> October 23, 2007> >>> >>> >> MOSCOW - The economic future of Moscow will depend more on attracting and > >> retaining high-tech companies than encouraging more housing and retail > >> business, members of a panel agreed Monday night.> >>> >> "In the basic form, economic development is jobs," said B.J. Swanson, > >> vice president of AmericanWest Bank here and chairwoman of the board of > >> directors for Gritman Medical Center. "But not just any job." She said > >> jobs should provide enough money to offer a reasonably comfortable > >> living.> >>> >> Robin Woods, president of Alturas Analytics located in Moscow, said 100 > >> percent of her bio-tech business comes from outside Idaho, most of it > >> from the San Francisco Bay Area. Yet, she and her partners!
  opted to
> >> locate here because of the quality of life that's available> >>> >> "Probably it would have been better to locate in San Francisco or > >> Seattle, but with Fed Ex and the fiber-optic that we have ... and with > >> the Internet, the world is flat and we can conduct our business here," > >> Woods said.> >>> >> David Alexander, a UI graduate and CEO of Ivus Industries, a small > >> business he decided to locate here, said Moscow is an ideal location for > >> entrepreneurs to tap into a high-tech labor pool that spins off both the > >> University of Idaho and neighboring Washington State University in > >> Pullman.> >>> >> "What the business is, is a focus on extremely fast-charging rechargeable > >> products," Alexander said of his startup company. He said the company, > >> which has four employees, is currently developing a fast-charging > >> flashlight.> >>> >> Judy Brown, an economist and director of the Idaho Center on Budget and > >> Tax Policy, said research shows i!
 f a
community creates a good living > >> environment, jobs will come. "The key thing that attracts" entrepreneurs > >> and businesses to an area, Brown said, is quality of life, not tax > >> breaks.> >>> >> "Quality of life and the ability to work either from home or near home," > >> she said, "are the two really key things in deciding where people locate > >> those kinds of businesses."> >>> >> The forum, sponsored by the Moscow Civic Association, comes two weeks > >> prior to a city council election here that many say hinges on attitudes > >> about economic growth. Bruce Livingston, president of the MCA, said the > >> forum was called in part to dispel the notion that the MCA is > >> anti-economic growth. He said the MCA is "pro business, pro growth and > >> pro community."> >>> >> About 30 people, including several council candidates, attended the forum > >> at the 1912 Center.> >>> >> Swanson said Moscow needs to wean itself from a housing and retail > >> fixation about grow!
 th. "Our
voracious appetite to approve subdivision > >> after subdivision, to build high-end homes, has run out of high-end > >> people to occupy them," Swanson said, adding that new retail businesses > >> seem to be only replacing old ones.> >>> >> "Over-built housing and replacement retail is not a good economic model," > >> Swanson said.> >>> >> According to statistics presented at the forum, Moscow has a population > >> of about 22,350 and UI employs about 2,870 people. Gritman employs 431, > >> with the Moscow School District and Wal-Mart, by comparison, employing > >> 350 and 207 people, respectively.> >>> >> Swanson said it's time for the community to get back on the right > >> economic track with the primary focus on good-paying jobs and a secondary > >> focus on housing and retail business. "And as always, focus on anything > >> that will help the University of Idaho. They've carried us for years. > >> It's time for us to get out and carry ourselves."> >>> >> All the panelis!
 ts said
Moscow city officials and members of the city > >> council have been extremely pro-business.> >>> >> "Our intent is to hire WSU and University of Idaho graduates," Woods said > >> about her expanding business. She said that all but one of the 30 people > >> working at Alturas Analytics are from the two universities. Woods said > >> it's important for Moscow to complete it's rewrite of the comprehensive > >> plan, and to keep tech businesses together to encourage more business.> >>> >> "I think it's important to have kind of a think-tank atmosphere," she > >> said, "kind of a campus atmosphere in your tech park. So I don't think > >> it's a good idea to scatter things here and there."> >>> >> Swanson pointed out Alturas Technology Park, located on the southeastern > >> edge of town, had modest beginnings, but now is home to around 150 jobs > >> that have annual salaries of $50,000 and up. "And those jobs really > >> contribute back to the community," she said.> >>> >> ---> >>!
 > >>
Johnson may be contacted at deveryone at potlatch.com or (208) 883-0564.> >>> >>> >>> > > > =======================================================> List services made available by First Step Internet, > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. > http://www.fsr.net > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com> =======================================================
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